NEW YORK - If you want to rent an apartment in the city, you can expect to pay those broker fees for a while longer.
A judge in Albany has temporarily blocked guidance from the state that would stop agents and brokers hired by landlords from charging brokers fees to tenants.
The Department of State issued the guidance last week on the Tenant Protection Act signed by Governor Cuomo in June. Broker fees run as high as 15 percent of an annual lease.
Tenant advocates say the one time payments prevent many people from finding apartments, but brokers believe the landlords will just pass on the cost of fees by raising rents.
The Real Estate Board of New York and New York State Association of Realtors issued a statement on the decision.
“Thousands of hardworking, honest real estate agents across New York State can do business in the same way they did prior to last week’s DOS memo without fear of discipline," the statement read.
The case is set to go back to court on March 13.