With the full legislature and governor facing re-election in 2026, HGAR and NYSAR are already preparing for what could be a watershed year for housing policy.
The NYC Rent Guidelines Board voted to approve rent increases of 3% for one-year leases and 4.5% for two-year leases on rent-stabilized apartments.
NAR successfully secured its top five priorities in the final package.
The FARE Act prohibits brokers who represent landlords from charging broker fees to tenants. This includes brokers who publish listings with the landlord’s permission.
NEW YORK—The controversial Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act went into effect yesterday (June 11) in New York City after a federal judge denied a request from the Real Estate Board of New York and others to delay the law’s implementation.
The Gothamist reported that Judge Ronnie Abrams denied a request from the REBNY and a collection of brokerages and landlords to pause the law while a lawsuit played out, stating that the “remedy is through the political process, not in court.”
Abrams also dismissed all but one of the arguments against the law’s implementation, noting the City Council’s intent in enacting the law was to “address a specific harm” that broker fees impose on tenants, according to The Gothamist.
The FARE Act prohibits brokers who represent landlords from charging broker fees to tenants. This includes brokers who publish listings with the landlord’s permission. Landlords or their agents must disclose other fees that the tenant must pay in their listings and rental agreements.
The measure was passed by the New York City Council overwhelmingly in November 2024 over the objections of REBNY, the New York State Association of Realtors and the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, as well as individual brokerage firms and landlord groups.
In response to the law going into effect, REBNY released a fact sheet (below) on the law’s key elements.
Brokers should clearly enter into agency relationships with the party that they represent. The use of the NYS Agency Disclosure Form and Compensation Agreements will be very helpful in this regard. For example, where a broker is representing a tenant, the broker should provide the NYS Agency Disclosure form indicating that the broker is representing the tenant, and the broker should enter into a Compensation Agreement with the Tenant. Dual agency is permitted in certain circumstances.
Additionally, prior to lease signing, landlords or their agents must disclose a list of all fees payable to the landlord in connection with the rental. The list must include a short description of each fee, and the list must be signed by the tenant, and retained by the landlord (or their agent) for three years.
While waiting for guidance from the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection as to what fees should be included, we strongly advise being overly inclusive concerning any landlord-imposed fees that the tenant may encounter during the tenancy. The list should include prospective fees such as lost key, pet charges, move-in/move-out, etc.
Nonetheless, we want to ensure that rental listings may still be submitted to the RLS to the maximum extent possible under the FARE Act. Rental listings where the landlord is offering compensation to the tenant broker should be entered in the RLS as standard active listings. Rental listings where the landlord will not offer compensation to the tenant broker should be entered in the RLS as “Participant Only Network” listings.
While many potential buyers believe they need a down payment of 20% for their first home purchase, the typical down payment for first-time buyers has ranged from 6% to 9%, dating back to 2018.
Indelicato joins the City of Yonkers with over 30 years of experience as an attorney and city planner for several Westchester County municipalities.
BRI officials stated that while the new increases prevent another destructive rent freeze, they once again fall short of what is required to keep up with rising costs.
A total of $789 million in funding is being directed to six projects in New York City ($603 million) and three projects in the Mid-Hudson region ($186 million).
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