The City Council passed the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses, or F.A.R.E., Act Wednesday.
The legislation will shift the cost of broker fees to the party that hires the broker. In many cases, it's the landlords who hire the broker.
The bill passed in City Council by a veto-proof majority of 42 to 8. But critics say renters will still ultimately be responsible for the fees in the form of higher rents. The bill now heads to Mayor Eric Adams’ desk.
The chief sponsor of the bill, City Councilman Chi Ossé, whose district includes Bedford-Stuyvesant and the northern portion of Crown Heights, sat down with Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Thursday to talk more about what eliminating mandatory broker fees will mean for New Yorkers looking to rent.
“Young people who are trying to move out of their parents’ houses and want to stay in their own neighborhood, having to pay an average of $12,000 just to move into a new apartment…half of that is the broker fee,” Ossé said. “Eliminating that obstacle will allow young people to move out of their parents’ homes a lot easier, allow people to move into the city for new jobs.”