Nine months after the FARE Act took effect, New York City renters have filed more than 1,600 complaints with the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection about illegal broker fees. The city's response: 53 summonses issued, and only two tenant refunds ever paid: $4,480 and $2,500 respectively, totaling $6,980 returned to renters. The law is on the books. Enforcement is not keeping pace.
This article is for NYC renters only. The FARE Act applies exclusively to rental transactions. If you are searching for information about buyer or seller broker arrangements, that is governed by separate rules outside the FARE Act's scope.
As someone who has worked with NYC renters across the five boroughs for over 25 years, I've watched the FARE Act enforcement gap develop in real time. The law changed who is legally responsible for the broker fee. It did not change the practical reality that tenants who need housing now cannot wait months for a government investigation to conclude. That gap is where illegal fees continue to get collected.
The Numbers Behind the FARE Act Enforcement Gap
DCWP data through March 2026 tells a specific story about FARE Act enforcement in Brooklyn and across all five boroughs:
| FARE Act Enforcement Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Total complaints filed with DCWP | 1,600+ |
| Formal complaints investigated | 186 |
| Summonses issued to landlords/brokers | 53 |
| Tenant refunds issued | 2 |
| Total refunded to tenants | $6,980 |
| Borough with most formal complaints | Brooklyn (67 of 186) |
| Average rent increase attributed to FARE Act | ~1.1% |
To put those refund numbers in context: if 5% of the 1,600+ complainants each paid an illegal broker fee of $3,000, roughly one month's rent on a mid-range NYC apartment. The total illegally collected from renters in this period exceeds $2.4 million. Two refunds totaling under $7,000 represents a fraction of a fraction of that amount.
Why Illegal Broker Fees Are Still Being Collected
The FARE Act enforcement gap has several structural causes that explain why landlords and brokers continue to charge illegal fees with relatively little consequence.
First, DCWP has limited investigative capacity. A surge of complaints following any new law is common, and the agency is working through a significant backlog. Of 1,600+ complaints, only 186 have been formally investigated, about 12%. The remaining complaints are in queue.
Second, renters who have already moved in have limited practical incentive to pursue a formal complaint. The fee has already been paid. The investigation will take months. The tenant is now settled in an apartment they need. Filing a complaint is the right thing to do, but the time and energy cost is real.
Third, some landlords have restructured around the law in ways that are technically legal. If a tenant independently retains a broker to help them find an apartment, the tenant can be charged a broker fee, because in that case, the tenant hired the broker. Some landlords and brokers have shifted to arrangements where the tenant is encouraged (or pressured) to sign a tenant-representation agreement before seeing the apartment, making the fee technically legal.
What the FARE Act Actually Requires
Under the FARE Act, a rental broker fee can only be charged to the party who hired the broker. If the landlord listed the apartment with a broker, the landlord pays that broker. The tenant cannot be required to pay a fee for a broker the landlord hired, regardless of what any listing or lease says.
This applies only to rental transactions. Buyer representation agreements and buyer's agent compensation in purchase transactions are governed by separate rules. The FARE Act is exclusively a renter protection.
Brooklyn Has the Most FARE Act Violations
Of the 186 formal complaints investigated by DCWP, 67 came from Brooklyn, more than any other borough. That reflects Brooklyn's high rental volume and the continued prevalence of broker-represented landlord listings across the borough. Queens and Manhattan follow in complaint volume.
Brooklyn renters who have been charged an illegal broker fee should file a complaint with DCWP even if they expect a slow resolution. The complaint record directly influences DCWP's enforcement prioritization. A pattern of complaints against a specific landlord or brokerage firm makes formal action more likely. The summons rate increases significantly for repeat violators.
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What Happened to the REBNY Legal Challenge?
The Real Estate Board of New York filed a Second Circuit appeal challenging the FARE Act. The appeal was argued in November 2025, but the Second Circuit has not issued a ruling as of April 2026. Until it does, the FARE Act remains in full force and effect across New York City.
Landlords or brokers who tell tenants the law "might be overturned soon" are not offering a legal justification for charging an illegal fee. They are acting illegally under current law, which applies right now regardless of what the Second Circuit may eventually decide.
If the Second Circuit does strike down the FARE Act, that ruling would apply going forward. Renters who paid illegal fees while the law was in effect would still have valid DCWP complaints for that period. The ruling would not wipe out the enforcement record.
The Rent Increase Tradeoff
StreetEasy data suggests average rents increased approximately 1.1% after the FARE Act passed, a figure attributed in part to landlords rolling what was previously a tenant-paid broker fee into the monthly rent. This arrangement is legal. The FARE Act prevents landlords from billing the broker fee as a separate charge to the tenant; it does not cap rents.
For renters, this means the FARE Act eliminated the large upfront broker fee cost, which could be 8-15% of annual rent paid on day one, but may have contributed to a modest monthly rent increase. Whether that tradeoff benefits a specific renter depends on how long they plan to stay in the apartment. For tenants staying two or more years, the elimination of the upfront fee saves money even accounting for the marginal rent increase. For tenants staying less than a year, the math is less clear.
How to File a FARE Act Complaint
If you were charged a broker fee by a broker hired by your landlord, you have a valid FARE Act complaint. File it at nyc.gov/consumers or by calling 311 and selecting the DCWP option. To strengthen your complaint, document the following before filing:
- The original listing showing the broker's information and who listed the apartment
- Any emails, texts, or written communications referencing the broker fee
- The signed lease, which may reference the broker fee payment terms
- The receipt or bank record confirming you paid the fee
- Any communication where you asked about the fee and were told it was required
For full context on how the FARE Act works and what constitutes an illegal fee, the FARE Act guide covers the law in detail. The six-month update covers early enforcement patterns from the first half of 2025.
What Needs to Change for Enforcement to Improve
The FARE Act enforcement gap is primarily a resource problem, not a legal problem. The law is clear. DCWP's investigative capacity simply has not scaled to match the complaint volume. Advocacy organizations, including housing groups active in Brooklyn and the Bronx, have called for increased DCWP staffing and faster case resolution timelines. The current 12% investigation rate (186 of 1,600+ complaints), is not consistent with meaningful enforcement.
Until enforcement catches up, renters' best protection is documentation. Know the law, document every fee request, and file a complaint when a violation occurs. The complaint record is cumulative. It builds the case for enforcement action against repeat violators even when individual cases take time to resolve.
Questions About NYC Housing Rights?
Milton Coste is a licensed Associate Broker at Keller Williams NYC with 25+ years of experience across all five boroughs.
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