() A Los Angeles real estate mogul says there is a massive rental shortage in the wake of extensive wildfire property loss that’s created an “off-market business” fueled by price gouging. 

“No one can find a rental. It’s insane,” Josh Altman, of “Million Dollar Listing LA,” said on ’s “CUOMO.” “We’re in uncharted waters here.”

Altman said some California residents are in dire straits trying to find a new home as rents are skyrocketing and landlords are gouging them. 

What’s happening to the rental market?

Wildfires have destroyed at least 10,000 homes, and more are expected to crumble. 

Altman said there are over 1,500 displaced renters who are desperately looking for a place to live. 

He said this has started an “entire off-market business” in which people try to make deals with empty houses that were supposed to be for sale. 

“It’s really a race to who can get to these leases first and make a deal, and we don’t even know what’s going to happen at the end of the day,” he said.

What’s happening with price gouging?

Under state law, price gouging occurs when the normal price of an item or service rises by more than 10%.

“If you asked me two weeks ago about price gouging in real estate, I wouldn’t even know what you were talking about, and now, it’s a very big deal here,” Altman said. 

“There’s over 2,000 units just on this list of people who had different prices in late December, and now, they are higher in January,” Altman said. 

In the wake of the wildfires that have displaced tens of thousands of residents, rental prices around the region have jumped considerably. 

The New York Times reported that a recent review of rental properties showed increases ranging from 15% to 64%. One ad for a Bel Air home was listed at $29,500 per month, which was previously listed at $15,900.

Unclear how housing laws will be enforced 

California has existing laws that ban price-gouging, but that hasn’t kept some landlords from spiking their rental prices.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has said that anyone noticing price gouging should immediately report it to his office’s website.

“Well, we’re going to see what the punishment is, right?” Altman said.

“We don’t even know what that is yet,” he said, adding that it’s unclear how long it will take agencies and the laws to catch offenders. 

While it is possible to recoup the money you overspent, there is an element of having to hire a lawyer and go through court to get that, he said. 

But Altman added that “ordinances are changing by the hour,” which he said was “good” because it helps speed the building process, which will help get people back into homes. 

Still, he believes that at least 65 to 70% of residents who lived in the Palisades area won’t return. 

“What are they going to do? They’re going to be in the house that’s finished and then live amongst 100 other houses being developed? The kids that are five years old, they’re going to be 10 years old by the time it’s done.”