The New York City Council has outlawed the practice of landlords passing broker fees onto residential tenants in New York City.

The City Council approved a bill on Wednesday that would curb a loathed New York City real estate practice: making renters pay thousands of dollars in broker fees. The post New York City Council approves bill shifting broker fees to landlords appeared first on Boston.

The New York City Council passed a bill Wednesday to have NYC landlords pay for broker fees, instead of tenants.

Tenants searching for an apartment in New York City have long been forced to pay thousands of dollars to real estate brokers

New York is one of the few cities where tenants paid broker fees instead of landlords. Mandatory broker fees, an unusual feature of New York City apartment hunting long reviled by renters, will be banned under legislation that passed Wednesday after overcoming fierce backlash from the city’s real estate lobby.

The City Council overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday that would largely shift the cost of broker fees to landlords, in a hit to the real estate industry.

The New York City Council passed, in a 42-8 vote, a bill that will put an end to forcing tenant-paid brokers fees, as the city looks for strategies to tackle the housing affordability crisis. Now, whoever hires the broker will have to pay their fees.