Renting in Manhattan
Broker Fees After the FARE Act: Who Pays Now
NYC's 2025 law rewired who pays rental broker fees. What changed, what didn't, and what to watch on the listing.
Facts, figures and legal references on this page were verified against public sources in August 2026. Rules change; confirm anything decision-critical with your attorney or agent.
For decades the defining insult of Manhattan renting was paying a broker fee of 12–15% of annual rent — thousands of dollars — to a broker you never hired, who worked for the landlord. The FARE Act (Local Law 119 of 2024) ended that arrangement on 11 June 2025.
The rule now
Whoever hires the broker pays the broker.
- Landlord engages the listing agent (the normal case): landlord pays.
- You engage your own broker to search for you: you pay them, as agreed.
- No one can require you to use a particular broker, or route a “fee” to the landlord’s broker, as a condition of renting.
Violations carry civil penalties, and the city’s consumer agency (DCWP) enforces — it logged over a thousand complaints in the law’s first year, so the rule has teeth. Report violations via 311.
What to watch instead
The honest caveat: landlords can respond by raising asking rents to absorb the cost, and in a tight market some of that has happened. The difference for you:
- The cost is now visible in the advertised rent rather than a four-figure surprise at lease signing — you can compare listings honestly.
- Move-in cash drops to first month + one month security, which is the real win for anyone relocating.
- On a renewal, a baked-in rent bump keeps costing you; a one-off fee didn’t. Long stays may effectively pay more than under the old system; short stays pay less.
Red flags that still appear
- “Tenant pays broker fee” on a landlord-listed apartment — unlawful; walk or report.
- Fee rebadged as an “application”, “processing” or “move-in” charge beyond the legal $20 application cap.
- Being told a specific broker is “required” to view or apply.
Everything here reflects the law as of the date above; enforcement details and market behaviour are still settling.