Tenants win battle against New York real estate brokers

The general concept that says that anyone who wants a service must pay for it, an important exception in New York that contributes to the increase in the price of the service. housing rent. In this city, the commissions to the brokers or real estate brokers are paid by the tenants and not by the owners of the apartments and houses who hire them to help them rent. The days of this unusual practice are after the city council approved a bill for the commissions of the broker They are paid by those who hire their services thus providing a great financial relief to tenants in a city of high rent. This new payment formula, which was approved by a majority, will take effect six months after it is signed by the mayor, Eric Adams.

“The system of commissions forced to brokers “It’s an affront to all New Yorkers,” he said. Brooklyn Councilor Chi Osséthe first trustee of the 33 that the law has in the council. Ossé, 26, is the youngest councilor in the city’s history and has been documenting on social media his difficulties finding a rental home in the neighbourhood, sharing a very common statement in the five cities. So their campaign ends one of the costs that make renting more expensive in New York.

“We did something that was supposed to be impossible: we beat the lobby buildings and urged the people of New York to pass this historic law. After too many decades of forcing tenants to pay for a broker they never hired, New Yorkers now it will save thousands of dollars every year. “I am very proud of my team,” Ossé told EL PAÍS this Thursday.

The commissions, which are usually around 15% of the annual rent, increase the cost of signing a rental contract in which you also have to pay a month’s deposit and the first rent. According to a recent company report online According to Streateasy rental and sales information, most people who sign a new rental contract pay around $13,000 to get the keys to the house they live in.

This is a prohibitive measure for many low-income and even middle-class families. And it is an amount that must be paid even if the future tenants have no relationship with the property. broker and they have contacted the landlord directly. The simple truth of it and broker employed pay force. Under the new law, tenants will pay the commission if they request the services of these professionals to find an apartment or house. Landlords and agents must offer more transparency when disclosing commissions in rental ads and contracts and failure to do so will result in fines of up to $2,000.

For Ossé the new system makes sense and is indeed the model used in other cities. Landlords affiliated with the powerful Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) have warned that if they have to take control of these payments they will pass the costs on to tenants through rent increases. . The mayor lamented this week that the law could have unintended consequences leading to permanent rent increases and that small property owners would be hurt by this new law. The council has a majority to avoid a hypothetical veto by the mayor, and if it happens it would have to arrive in the next 30 days.