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Effective immediately, the state of New York has banned brokers fees for renters - shifting the burden to landlords, some of whom will still want to leverage brokers to show apartments and find a tenant. The new legislation could hamper brokerages focused on rentals, and some landlords are indicating this could lead to higher rents.
The guidance, which clarifies new rules that were part of a sweeping rent-regulation package last June, threatens tightened firms that specialize in brokering rental apartment leases. It already is drawing harsh criticism from landlords, who say they will be forced to raise rents to cover the cost of the agents they hire to show apartments. “You might have some owners who decide to just try to do it on their own,“ said Andrew Barrocas, founder of the brokerage MNS, which hires dozens of rental agents. “I’m leasing thousands of apartments a year and all of these landlords, if they thought they could do it better themselves, they would.”
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