Leni Cummins is quoted in the New York Post on a recent guidance memo issued by the New York Department of State which dictates that tenants cannot be charged broker fees in certain circumstances. The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Statute passed in June mandated that tenants could not be charged more than $20 in fees when applying for an apartment, but did not specifically clarify if that cap included broker fees. The regulation aims to protect tenants of non-rent stabilized buildings from being charged additional fees by landlords.

“If landlords try to ‘bake in’ the brokerage fees into the rental prices, the one-off or smaller building landlord units will end up disproportionately more expensive,” said Leni. “Overall, I expect that rental prices will increase to cover some or all of the costs.”

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