Link: https://shelterforce.org/2026/09/25/from-emergency-response-to-building-power-the-story-of-las-rent-brigade/

In the immediate aftermath of the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, which destroyed more than 16,000 structures, including at least 13,000 homes. The Rent Brigade emerged as a spontaneous, grassroots response to the widespread illegal rent gouging that followed.

Initially formed by volunteers who documented violations and helped victims of rent gouging seek justice, the organization has since evolved into a dues-paying membership organization that conducts strategic research, develops policy, and builds the know-how and power needed to win a future in which housing is treated as a right available to all, rather than a commodity sold for profit.