I’ve represented both landlords and tenants in New York City Housing Court for years. I’ve seen people lose apartments they could comfortably afford month to month because of what it costs to move in. The broker fee problem in this city has been real, and the FARE Act, which took effect in June 2025, does something about it. I think that matters. But I also think anyone declaring this an unqualified victory isn’t watching what’s happening on the ground.
What the FARE Act Actually Does
The law is straightforward in principle: if a landlord hires a broker to find a tenant, the landlord pays that broker’s fee. Not the tenant. The tenant didn’t hire the broker. The broker was working on behalf of the landlord. This was always a strange arrangement, paying for a service you didn’t request as a condition of getting housing, and the FARE Act corrects it.
Before this law, a tenant moving into a modest two-bedroom in Brooklyn could be looking at a broker fee anywhere from one to two months’ rent, first month up front, and a security deposit. That’s five figures before they’ve lived there a single night. For working families with steady income but limited liquid savings, that number doesn’t just make it hard. It makes it impossible.
What I’m Actually Seeing Since It Took Effect
Here’s where I want to be careful about overselling the outcome. Landlords are not absorbing this cost in silence. What I’ve observed since the law took effect is a predictable market response: some landlords have simply baked the broker fee into higher advertised rents. The monthly number goes up, the move-in cost goes down. Whether a tenant comes out ahead depends entirely on how long they stay in the apartment.
Others have gone a different direction entirely. They’ve stopped using brokers and started listing directly on StreetEasy and similar platforms. No broker fee means no FARE Act exposure. It also means the tenant loses whatever representation a broker might have provided in understanding the lease.
The Question the Market Is Still Answering
I support the intent behind this law. I genuinely do. Shifting an upfront cost away from tenants who are already cash-strapped at move-in is the right direction. But I’m not ready to say it saves tenants money. That depends on lease terms, duration, and how aggressively landlords repriced when the law came in.
What the FARE Act clearly does is make housing more accessible at the point of entry. A family that could never scrape together a broker fee plus two months’ rent now has a real shot at an apartment they can sustain. That’s not nothing. That’s actually significant.
What it does to total housing costs over a two- or three-year tenancy is still an open question. The market will answer it. I’m watching.
This article reflects my personal opinion as a practicing NYC attorney and is not legal advice. Every situation is different. If you have a specific legal question, contact my office.