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Rules & Rights

NYC Broker Fees and the FARE Act: Who Pays Now

Under New York City’s FARE Act, whoever hires the broker pays the broker. Since June 11, 2025, a broker who represents the landlord, or who published the listing with the landlord’s permission, cannot charge the tenant a broker fee. You pay one only if you hired a broker yourself.

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In This Guide 7 sections
  1. What the FARE Act Says
  2. Who Counts as the Landlord’s Broker
  3. When a Tenant Still Pays a Broker
  4. Fees Must Be Disclosed, in the Listing and in Writing
  5. How to Report a FARE Act Violation
  6. What It Means for Your Budget
  7. Questions

The Short Version

  • The FARE Act took effect on June 11, 2025 and is enforced by the city’s consumer agency, DCWP.
  • A landlord’s agent or listing agent cannot charge a tenant a broker fee.
  • Nobody can make hiring a broker a condition of renting an apartment.
  • Every fee you must pay has to be in the listing and in a written list before you sign.

What the FARE Act Says

FARE stands for Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses. It is Local Law 119 of 2024, and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) enforces it.

Before the law, a tenant in New York often paid the fee of a broker the landlord had chosen. Now the landlord’s agent cannot charge the prospective tenant, and the landlord can be held responsible if its agent does.

Who Counts as the Landlord’s Broker

  • A landlord’s agent: a broker who represents the landlord in renting the apartment.
  • A listing agent: a broker who publishes a listing with the landlord’s permission. DCWP says an agent who publishes a listing is presumed to have that permission.
  • A dual agent, who represents both sides: a landlord or agent cannot make you agree to one as a condition of renting.

When a Tenant Still Pays a Broker

You can still choose to hire your own broker to search for you, and then you pay the fee you agreed with that broker. The choice has to be yours. DCWP says no one can condition the rental of an apartment on the tenant hiring any broker, including a broker who says you must hire them to see the unit.

So if you found the apartment on a listing site and the agent who answers then asks you for a fee, that is the situation the law prohibits.

Get any agreement with a broker you hire in writing, with the fee stated as a dollar amount, before they show you anything.

Fees Must Be Disclosed, in the Listing and in Writing

The law also covers how fees are shown. Listings must clearly disclose every fee the tenant has to pay to rent the apartment. Before you sign the lease, the landlord or agent must give you an itemized written list of the fees, with a description of each. You sign it, they keep it for three years, and you get a copy.

The FARE Act does not ban every charge. The application fee for a credit and screening report is still allowed under state law, capped at $20 or the actual cost, whichever is less.

How to Report a FARE Act Violation

  1. Save the evidence: the listing, texts, emails, screenshots, receipts, and the broker’s name and contact details.
  2. File a complaint with DCWP online, or call 311 and say it is about a broker fee.
  3. You do not have to have rented the apartment to complain.
  4. DCWP can issue a summons. If the charge is upheld, the violator faces a civil penalty and can be ordered to pay back the illegal fee.
  5. You can also sue in civil court. The law gives tenants that right.

If you agreed in writing to pay a broker before June 11, 2025, DCWP says whether the law covers it depends on the circumstances.

What It Means for Your Budget

When the landlord’s broker cannot charge you, the up-front cost of a lease is mostly the first month and the deposit. At StreetEasy’s median asking rent, October 2026, of $3,520 for a Brooklyn one-bedroom, that is $3,520 x 2 = $7,040.

Compare apartments on monthly rent and on the full list of disclosed fees, since a landlord’s costs can show up in either.

Questions

Do tenants pay broker fees in NYC in 2026?

Only if the tenant hired the broker. Since June 11, 2025, the FARE Act bars a landlord’s agent or listing agent from charging the tenant a broker fee.

Can a broker make me sign with them to see an apartment?

No. DCWP says no one can make renting an apartment depend on the tenant hiring a broker, even a broker who says you must hire them to see or rent the unit.

How do I report an illegal broker fee in NYC?

File a complaint with the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection online or through 311, with screenshots, messages and receipts. You can also sue in civil court.

Does the FARE Act ban application fees?

No. Landlords can still charge for a credit and screening report, but New York State caps that at $20 or the actual cost, whichever is less.

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This is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by state, city, building and lease. Check your lease, get your landlord’s written approval before you sublet, and ask a local attorney about your situation.

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