Who Pays the Broker Fee in NYC After the FARE Act (2026)?

After the FARE Act took effect in June 2025, the broker fee in NYC falls on whoever hires the broker. In most listings the landlord hires the broker, so the landlord pays the fee, not the renter. A renter only owes a broker fee when the renter chooses to hire an agent to represent them. That single rule replaces years of confusion.

For a long time, the tenant paid the broker fee even when the broker worked for the landlord. The FARE Act changes who is responsible. Below is a calm walk-through of what changed, who pays in the common scenarios, and how to confirm it before you sign anything.

What did the FARE Act change?

The FARE Act, effective June 2025, ties the broker fee to a simple question: who hired the broker? The party that hires the broker pays the broker.

Before this, tenant broker fees were common and often large. Historically they ran from one month of rent up to about 12 to 15 percent of the annual rent. On a NYC apartment, that was a real sum. The average move-in cost in NYC was about $13,000 in 2023, and the broker fee used to be a large part of that.

What to do: Read any fee a broker quotes through one lens. Who hired this person?

Who hires the broker, and who pays?

Most NYC listings you see online were posted by a broker the landlord hired to fill the unit. In that case, the landlord is the one who hired the broker, so the landlord pays the fee.

• Landlord hired the broker (the common case): The landlord pays. Most renters who do not hire their own agent no longer pay that fee.
• You hired your own broker to represent you: You pay, because you are the one who hired them.

The distinction is about representation, not about who happened to unlock the door for your tour.

What to do: Ask plainly which side hired the broker showing you the unit.

When does a renter still pay a fee?

A renter can still owe a broker fee, but only in a specific situation: the renter chooses to hire their own broker to search on their behalf and represent them. That is a service the renter requested, so the renter pays for it.

Treat a tenant broker fee as possible, not guaranteed. If a broker who represents the landlord asks you, the tenant, for a fee, that request is questionable under the FARE Act.

What to do: If you did not hire anyone, expect no broker fee. If a landlord-side broker still asks for one, pause and ask why.

What can a landlord legally charge upfront?

It helps to know the short list of legal upfront charges, so a surprise line item stands out.

• Security deposit: capped at one month of rent.
• First month of rent.
• Application fee: capped at $20.

A broker fee charged to a tenant who never hired a broker is not on that list.

What to do: Add up what you are asked to pay before move-in. If it is more than the deposit plus first month plus a small application fee, ask for each charge in writing.

The workaround: "just sign this before the tour"

Some brokers found a move around the FARE Act. Before you can tour a unit you found yourself online, they send over an "Exclusive Right to Represent" form or a commission agreement, often with vague terms like "any property" and "one year." Sign it, and on paper YOU hired them. The fee lands back on you.

Here is the part that matters, straight from the city's enforcement guidance: a broker who published the listing with the landlord's permission is presumed to be the landlord's agent. Per the DCWP FARE Act guidance, claiming to be a tenant's broker while listing that same unit violates the law. Signing their form does not legalize the fee. Who the broker really represents is a question of the whole situation, not the paper.

One more thing: agreeing to pay, or even having paid, does not waive your rights. You cannot sign away a consumer protection law by saying ok.

What to do: Never sign an exclusive or a commission agreement just to tour an apartment. Seeing a place does not require representation. If someone pushes paperwork at you before you've seen the unit, that's the tell.

What if they charge me anyway?

The FARE Act has teeth. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection enforces it: $750 for a first violation, up to $2,000 for repeat ones. The law also requires the landlord side to give you an itemized, written disclosure of every fee before you sign. That is not a courtesy. It is the law.

What to do: Ask for the written fee disclosure. If an illegal fee is charged, report it by calling 311 or filing at the DCWP site. Keep the listing screenshot and every message.

How do I confirm who represents whom?

You do not need to guess. A few direct questions settle it.

• Ask the agent: "Did the landlord hire you, or am I hiring you?"
• Ask for the fee, and the reason for it, in writing before you apply.
• Compare the upfront total against the legal list above.

What to do: Get the answer in writing. A clear, written reply is easy to give when nothing is out of place.

Common questions

Do I have to pay a broker fee in NYC now?

Usually not, if you did not hire your own broker. When the landlord hired the broker, the landlord pays. You only owe a fee when you hired an agent to represent you.

A broker showing a landlord's apartment is asking me for a fee. Is that allowed?

That request is questionable. If the broker was hired by the landlord, the landlord is the party responsible for the fee. Ask, in writing, who hired them and why you are being charged.

How much were tenant broker fees before the FARE Act?

They ranged from about one month of rent up to roughly 12 to 15 percent of the annual rent, which was often a large share of the roughly $13,000 average move-in cost in 2023.

A broker asked me to sign a representation agreement before a tour. Should I?

No. Touring does not require representation. A broker who listed the unit is presumed the landlord's agent under DCWP guidance, and signing their form does not make their fee legal. Sign a representation agreement only when you actually hired that broker to search for you.

I already agreed to the fee. Do I still have to pay?

Agreeing does not waive your rights. If the broker represents the landlord (they listed it, they had access to it, the landlord pays them), the fee should not be yours regardless of what you said. Ask in writing who they represent and for the FARE fee disclosure.

Sources: NYC DCWP, FARE Act guidance · NYC Council, the FARE Act

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