Council set to vote on broker fee bill

November 13, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CITYWIDE – THE CITY COUNCIL is set to vote on Wednesday on Councilmember Chi Osse’s Fairness in Apartment Rentals Act, reports The City, a bill which would require broker fees to be paid by the person who hires the broker, generally shifting the burden from tenants to landlords. The bill is expected to easily pass the council, but is just shy of a veto-proof majority thus far, leaving the decision in the hands of Mayor Adams, who has signaled ambivalence.

On Tuesday, the mayor at a press conference said that while he supports renters, he believes the bill will result in raised rents, as landlords could shift the price burden onto tenants; the mayor has also previously said that small landlords might not be able to bear fees – criticisms landlord groups have agreed with. Supporters, on the other hand, have countered that landlords would have more negotiating power and would be able to bring down broker prices across the board, as well as that even if rents did rise, the burden would still be easier to bear than the frequently hefty up-front payments to brokers.

New York and Boston are the only major cities where tenants are expected to pay broker fees, according to The City; it is not common elsewhere in the nation.

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