After wildfires devastated the island, homelessness spiked. Advocates fear L.A. could face a similar fate without strong renter protections — and enforcement.
Preventing price gouging on rents and predatory evictions are looming challenges for public officials.
Economists say it requires crossing influential business lobbies to crack down on excessively high pricing by companies that dominate their industries.
Food, toiletries and over-the-counter medicines have been marked up so high that many prisoners are simply priced out.