NYC Landlords Must Now Pay Apartment Brokers Fees

Gothamist reports:

Landlord, not tenants, will now be forced to foot the bill for New York City’s notoriously high brokers fees, following new guidance issued by the NY Department of State.

Seeking to clarify outstanding questions stemming from last year’s sweeping rent reform package, the new state action mandates that brokers acting on behalf of landlords cannot be compensated by prospective tenants.

The news marks a monumental shift in New York’s real estate landscape, where renters have long been saddled with all-but-inescapable broker fees that often total 12 to 15 percent of annual rent. NYC is one of the few cities where those charges are passed onto tenants — “an insane special case” that’s persisted for decades, according to experts.

Read the rest. Cynics believe that landlords will just fold the broker’s fees into the total rent.