Under New York City’s broker fee law, whoever hires the broker pays the broker. For any lease signed on or after June 11, 2025, if a landlord retained the agent who listed or showed the apartment, the landlord owes that agent’s commission. You only owe a broker fee when you independently hired your own agent to help you find housing. This is the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act, known as the FARE Act, and it rewrote a decades-old practice that routinely added thousands of dollars to a renter’s move-in bill.1New York City Council. Local Law 119 of 2024 – FARE Act
Who Pays the Broker Fee Now
Before June 2025, landlords in NYC commonly hired brokers to market vacancies and then required the incoming tenant to pay that broker’s commission as a condition of signing. Those fees typically ran 12% to 15% of the annual rent. On a $3,000 apartment, that meant $4,300 to $5,400 out of pocket just to get the keys, on top of first month and security.
The FARE Act ended that arrangement. A landlord’s agent cannot impose or collect any fee from a tenant for the rental of residential property. The same prohibition reaches any agent who publishes a listing with the landlord’s permission, and the law presumes any published listing was authorized by the landlord unless the broker proves otherwise. A broker can’t dodge the rule by claiming to be acting on their own.1New York City Council. Local Law 119 of 2024 – FARE Act
You still pay a broker fee if you hire your own agent. If you sign a representation agreement with a tenant-side broker before the search, whatever you negotiated in that contract is yours to pay. The dividing line is simple: did the broker work for you, or did they work for the landlord? If you found the listing on a rental platform, the broker behind it is almost certainly the landlord’s. You owe them nothing.2New York City Council. The FARE Act
Workarounds That Are Also Illegal
The law anticipated the obvious dodges and shut them down. A landlord or agent cannot condition the rental on the tenant hiring a broker, including by steering you to a dual agent who then charges you. A listing cannot represent that fees must be paid in a way the FARE Act prohibits. And relabeling a broker fee as an “administrative fee,” “processing fee,” or similar charge does not make it legal; the substance of the charge controls, not the label on the invoice.1New York City Council. Local Law 119 of 2024 – FARE Act
Disclosures You Should See Before You Sign
The FARE Act requires two separate disclosures. Every residential rental listing must clearly and conspicuously state any fee a prospective tenant would need to pay, including application fees, move-in charges, and anything else owed before the lease starts.1New York City Council. Local Law 119 of 2024 – FARE Act
Before you sign the lease, the landlord or landlord’s agent must give you an itemized written disclosure of every fee you’ll owe, each with a short description. You sign that document before signing the lease. The landlord or agent keeps the signed copy on file for three years and gives you one for your records. If a broker fee appears on that itemized list and you did not personally hire the broker, the charge violates the FARE Act.1New York City Council. Local Law 119 of 2024 – FARE Act
Separately, New York State requires an agency disclosure form under Real Property Law Section 443. A landlord’s agent must present it at the first substantive contact with you; a tenant’s agent must present it before you sign a representation agreement. The form says plainly who the broker represents and how they’re paid. Ask to see it. If the broker represents the landlord, the landlord owes the fee.3New York State Senate. New York Real Property Code 443 – Disclosure Regarding Real Estate Agency Relationship
What Happens If You’re Charged Illegally
Charging a tenant a fee that should be the landlord’s responsibility carries a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a first violation and up to $2,000 for each subsequent violation within a two-year period. Failing to provide the required disclosures carries up to $500 for a first offense and up to $1,000 after that. The landlord is in violation even when the agent is the one who actually collected the money, so there is no hiding behind the broker.1New York City Council. Local Law 119 of 2024 – FARE Act
The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) enforces the law. If you believe you were charged a broker fee you don’t owe, file a complaint through DCWP’s online portal with as much supporting evidence as you can gather: text messages, emails, screenshots of the listing, the itemized fee disclosure, receipts, and the broker’s contact information. DCWP investigates and can order restitution on top of the civil penalty.4NYC.gov. Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act
Other Caps on Move-In Costs
Two other state rules limit what a landlord can charge before you move in, and both work alongside the FARE Act.
Application screening is capped at $20 for a background and credit check, or the actual cost of the check if less. If you hand the landlord a copy of a background or credit report run within the past 30 days, the fee has to be waived entirely. The landlord must also give you a copy of the results and the receipt from the screening company.5New York State Senate. New York Real Property Code 238-A – Prohibited Fees and Charges
Security deposits are capped at one month’s rent. The cap applies regardless of your credit history or the rent level. The only exceptions are seasonal-use dwellings and owner-occupied cooperatives.6New York State Senate. New York General Obligations Code 7-108 – Deposits and Advances
Where the Law Doesn’t Reach
The FARE Act covers residential rentals in New York City, which is most of what renters are looking at. A few situations fall outside it. Commercial leases are not covered; commercial tenants negotiate broker arrangements entirely by private contract. Co-op sales conveyed through a proprietary lease are not covered either, and co-op boards may impose their own application and processing fees on prospective shareholders that aren’t bound by the $20 screening cap.5New York State Senate. New York Real Property Code 238-A – Prohibited Fees and Charges When a co-op or condo unit is being rented rather than sold, the FARE Act’s rules apply. Rent-stabilized apartments are covered the same as market-rate units.
Is the Law Still in Effect?
Yes. The real estate industry sued to block the FARE Act, and U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams dismissed the challenge in June 2025. The law took effect the following day, June 11, 2025. An appeal is pending before the Second Circuit as of early 2026, and the law remains fully enforceable while that appeal proceeds.7New York City Council. FARE Act Becomes Law, Reforming Broker Fees to Help Working-Class New Yorkers Afford Housing
If you’re signing a lease today and a landlord’s broker is asking you to pay a commission, the answer is no. Confirm who the broker represents, ask for the agency disclosure form, read the itemized fee disclosure before you sign anything, and file with DCWP if the charge is on the paperwork anyway.