November 12, 2019
If a state of emergency is declared, and if the state of emergency results from an earthquake, flood, fire, riot, storm, or natural or manmade disaster, California Penal Code §396 generally prohibits price gouging (i.e. price increases of more than 10%) for rental housing and consumer food items or goods, goods or services used for emergency cleanup, emergency supplies, medical supplies, home heating oil, building materials, transportation, freight, and storage services, or gasoline or other motor fuels for 30 days after the emergency is declared. The price gouging restrictions may be extended for additional time periods by state or local officials, boards or other governing bodies authorized to extend the restrictions.
Recent states of emergencies include the following:
- A state of emergency was declared statewide by the Governor of California on October 27, 2019. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/10/27/governor-newsom-declares-statewide-emergency-due-to-fires-extreme-weather-conditions/. This state of emergency will continue through November 26, 2019.
- A state of emergency was declared in Sonoma and Los Angeles counties by the Governor of California on October 25, 2019. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/10/25/governor-newsom-declares-state-of-emergency-in-sonoma-and-los-angeles-counties-due-to-fires/. This state of emergency will continue through November 24, 2019.
- A state of emergency was declared in Riverside and Los Angeles counties by the Governor of California on October 11, 2019. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/10/11/governor-newsom-declares-state-of-emergency-in-los-angeles-and-riverside-counties-due-to-fires/. This state of emergency will continued through November 10, 2019.
The state initially did not promptly update the website (at https://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/legal-affairs/price-gouging) with new states of emergency, but it now appears to have been updated and is current.
States of emergency continue through December 31, 2019 in Mendocino, Napa, Santa Barbara, Shasta, and Sonoma counties.
Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP is a full service real estate law firm representing residential and commercial property owners and managers. This article is for general information purposes only. While KTS provides clients with information on legislative changes, our courtesy notifications are not meant to be exhaustive and do not take the place of legislative services or membership in trade associations. Our legal alerts are provided on selected topics and should not be relied upon as a complete report of all new changes of local, state, and federal laws affecting property owners and managers. Laws may have changed since this article was published. Before acting, be sure to receive legal advice from our office. For contact information, please visit our website: www.kts-law.com. For past Legal Alerts, Questions & Answers and Legal Articles, please consult the resource section of our website.
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