If you signed a New York City lease before June 11, 2025, there’s a good chance you handed a stranger somewhere between $4,000 and $7,500 the day you got the keys — a broker fee paid to someone the landlord hired, not you. Nearly a year into the FARE Act, that math has changed for most renters in the city. As we head into the busy summer leasing window, here’s a clear-eyed look at how the law is actually playing out in May 2026, what’s working, what’s not, and how to make sure you’re getting the savings the law was designed to deliver.
What the FARE Act actually did
The Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act took effect on June 11, 2025. The rule is simple in principle: whoever hires the broker pays the broker. Because in the vast majority of NYC listings the landlord is the party who hires the broker, the landlord — not the tenant — is now responsible for that fee. The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), which enforces the law, can fine violators $750 for a first offense and up to $2,000 for repeat violations. (Source: NYC DCWP FARE Act FAQ.)
The law also requires landlords or their agents to give prospective tenants a written, itemized disclosure of every fee the tenant will be charged before the lease is signed. That disclosure has to be signed by the tenant. If you’re handed a lease without one, that’s a red flag — and a potential 311 complaint.
The savings: what StreetEasy data shows
StreetEasy projected that the FARE Act would push average upfront move-in costs down 41.8 percent — from roughly $12,942 to $7,537 — for renters who would previously have paid a broker fee. That number reflects the elimination of the lump-sum broker fee while still accounting for first month’s rent and a security deposit. (Source: StreetEasy: What the FARE Act Means for Renters.)
StreetEasy’s listing data also shows that asking rents on no-fee units rose by about 5.3 percent on average — meaning landlords are passing some of the cost back through monthly rent. For most renters, the math still favors the new structure. A 5.3 percent rent bump on a $3,500 apartment is about $185 a month, or roughly $2,200 over a 12-month lease. That’s still well under the $5,000-plus a typical 12-to-15 percent broker fee used to cost upfront — and crucially, it’s spread out instead of due day one.
Where the savings are biggest — and smallest
The FARE Act delivers the biggest savings in two situations: high-rent Manhattan units (where 15 percent broker fees were the norm) and any apartment where you’re moving in with limited cash reserves. Manhattan’s median rent hit a record $5,000 a month in March 2026, according to data from Brick Underground citing the Douglas Elliman / Miller Samuel rental report. A 15 percent broker fee on $5,000-a-month rent was $9,000 — gone. (Source: Brick Underground, Manhattan Rental Market Report, March 2026.)
The savings are smallest, and sometimes net negative, for renters who deliberately seek out a buyer’s-side broker — someone the renter hires directly to find them an apartment. That’s still legal. If you sign a buyer’s-broker agreement, you’re the one paying. Read every fee disclosure carefully.
Watch out for these workarounds
DCWP has been tracking complaints since the law took effect. Three patterns keep coming up:
- Misnamed fees. A “finder’s fee,” “administrative fee,” “processing fee,” or “key fee” charged to the tenant and going to the landlord’s broker is still a broker fee in disguise. It is not legal.
- Required move-in fees beyond the disclosure. Any fee not on the signed itemized disclosure is, by definition, not enforceable. If a landlord tries to add one at lease signing, refuse and ask for a corrected disclosure.
- Inflated security deposits. Under New York’s Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA), security deposits on most apartments are capped at one month’s rent. A landlord asking for two or three months as a “deposit” is breaking a separate law.
Action steps before you sign your next lease
- Filter to no-fee listings. On StreetEasy, set the “No fee” filter. On Zillow, look for listings labeled “No broker fee.” Verify the listing language says the landlord is paying the broker.
- Demand the itemized disclosure. Ask for it before you submit an application. Every fee you’ll pay — application, credit check, move-in, deposit — must be listed in writing.
- Verify who hired the broker. Ask directly: “Who is paying your commission on this listing?” If the answer is “You are,” walk unless you specifically engaged that broker as your buyer’s agent.
- Watch the rent vs. fee math. A no-fee unit at slightly higher rent almost always wins over a fee unit. Run the 12-month total before deciding.
- If you’re charged an illegal fee, file a complaint. File at NYC DCWP or call 311. DCWP can fine the landlord and direct your fee back to you.
The bigger picture: leasing in May 2026
The FARE Act has not solved NYC’s affordability problem. Median rents are at record highs, vacancy remains historically tight, and the comptroller’s office continues to flag a structural shortage of housing. (Source: NYC Comptroller Mark Levine, Spotlight on NYC’s Rental Housing Market.) But it has shifted the moment of pain. Renters no longer need a $5,000 cushion sitting in a bank account just to walk through the door. For the population this site exists to help — first-time renters, lower-income households, recent transplants, anyone moving without family money behind them — that’s the most concrete cost-of-living improvement NYC has delivered in a long time.
If you’re shopping a lease this summer, your job is straightforward: read the disclosure, do the math on no-fee versus fee listings, and report violations when you see them. The law works. It only continues to work if renters use it.
Related reading on HelpNewYork
- NYC Rent Freeze 2026: What the New Rent Guidelines Board Means for Stabilized Tenants
- The Manhattan Rent Reality Check 2026
- NYC Affordability Stress Test 2026: What AMI Means for Your Rent
