Friday, May 29, 2026

Displaced Eaton Fire Couple Sue Former Landlords Over Alleged Excessive Rent

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A family displaced from their Altadena home by the 2025 Eaton Fire Thursday sued the landlords who allegedly charged them nearly three times the maximum rent permitted under state and local law.

The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges that Terrence and Catalina Chow continued to collect the allegedly illegal rent from plaintiffs Randall and Candy Renick for nearly 10 months after receiving written notice from both the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and Los Angeles County that their conduct was illegal. The plaintiffs’ attorneys stated during a news conference Thursday outside the downtown civil courthouse that the case is the first private civil action brought by a wildfire-displaced family to enforce the rental price-gouging protections.

The lawsuit seeks restitution of the unlawful overcharges, compensatory damages, civil penalties of up to $30,000 per violation as well as   attorneys’ fees and costs. A representative for the Chows could not be immediately reached.

“The state and the city’s price-gouging laws exist because we know people will be taken advantage of without them,” plaintiffs’ attorney Joshua Nuni said. “This case is about making sure those laws are more than just words on a page.”

The Renicks had lived in their Altadena home for 18 years when the Eaton Fire forced them to evacuate on the night of Jan. 7, 2025. They fled with their dogs and all that they could fit in their car and their home, badly contaminated by smoke, was rendered unsafe to inhabit.

Searching online for long-term temporary housing, the Renicks found a listing for a three-bedroom home in Glassell Park owned by the Chows through a trust. The property was first listed for rent nine days after the Eaton Fire began, and the Renicks moved in on Jan. 26, 2025.

The state’s anti-price gouging law limited the lawful monthly rent for the home to just over $5,030, but the Chows charged the Renicks almost $15,000 per month, nearly three times the lawful maximum, the suit alleges. The Chows allegedly collected about $95,758 in unlawful overcharges from the Renicks.

Notices of potential violations were sent in February 2025 by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and by Los Angeles County to the Chows, but the warnings were ignored and the Chows continued to collect nearly $15,000 monthly from the Renicks until the tenancy ended in mid-November, the suit further alleges.

“We were just trying to find somewhere safe to live while we figured out what came next,” Candy Renick said. “Instead, we ended up being overcharged almost $10,000 every month and our landlords wouldn’t stop even after the city told them to.”

Chelsea Kirk of the Rent Brigade said tenants should never have been put in the position of having to enforce disaster protections by themselves.

“After thousands of reports and virtually no meaningful action from the city attorney or county and state agencies, people have realized they can’t rely on government enforcement to protect them from exploitation,” Kirk said.