The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved another short-term extension of protections against price gouging tied to the county’s wildfire emergency from January 2025.

The action continues county rules that limit rent increases and restrict certain eviction practices, extending those protections for housing through Feb. 27. Without the vote, the protections were set to expire in late January.

The extension keeps in place countywide limits under California’s anti-price gouging law and the county’s local rules, which generally cap rent increases at no more than 10% above pre-emergency levels. The rules also prohibit evicting a residential tenant and re-renting the unit at a higher price during the protected period.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s motion cited ongoing displacement, continued reliance on temporary housing, and complaints alleging price gouging as justification for extending the protections.

The motion also maintains a previously approved allowance for certain units that were not rented and not offered for rent within one year prior to the declaration of emergency. For those units, the county continues to allow rents of up to 200% of the fair market rent established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, rather than the lower threshold otherwise permitted under state law.

Ahead of the vote, the California Apartment Association submitted a letter urging the board to begin planning a phase-out of the emergency price-gouging provisions. The association asked the county to establish a clear end date for the protections, citing improving conditions, countywide vacancy rates above 5%, and concerns that continued extensions may discourage some housing providers from bringing units back to the market.

County officials have said the price-gouging limits remain necessary as many displaced households continue to rely on temporary housing and insurance coverage for displacement costs begins to run out.