Surprise for New York Renters: No More Broker Fees

The elimination of broker fees, in addition to the laws passed last year, push New York further as a national leader in creating rules favorable toward renters.

Brokers can still collect a fee, the state said in the revised rules, but it must be paid by the landlord unless a prospective tenant hired them to help find an apartment.

The new rule, buried in a legal guidance on last year’s rent laws, caught lawmakers, many landlords and brokers off guard. The Real Estate Board of New York, the influential trade group, immediately threatened to challenge the rule in court and urged its members to protest.

“This is a dire issue with our members, so we are literally going through every single avenue,” said Reggie Thomas, the board’s senior vice president for government affairs. “It’s an all-hands on deck thing because this came out of left field.”

Brokers warned that the new rules would simply increase what tenants pay in monthly rent, since many landlords will likely pass on the cost of a broker’s fee to their residents in higher rent.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/nyregion/nyc-landlord-rental-broker-fees.html?emc=rss&partner=rss