Today, New York City working-class tenants won! With the city council’s passage of the FARE Act (Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses), tenants will no longer be forced to pay for a real estate broker that we didn’t hire. 

If you live in New York City, you know that broker’s fees jack up prices in an already-unaffordable city. You may not have known that we were one of only two cities in the country where landlords could pass on their broker’s fees to tenants. That ends now. 

In the midst of a housing crisis, in a city where nearly two-thirds of households are renters, it is unconscionable that tenants had to bear this cost – forcing us to spend our savings to move, or remain in subpar apartments. 

As our member Felipe Idrovo said: “For the last few months, I have looked at countless places but have not been able to close a deal on an apartment because I always get asked for a month’s rent, security deposit, and broker’s fee, which makes moving too expensive. The FARE Act will help.” 

Make the Road NY has been leading this fight. We spent months working with partners and key allies in the city council to make sure this vote was successful today. Thank you to Council Member Chi Ossé for his leadership and Speaker Adrienne Adams for getting this bill over the finish line. Together we created a more just system for tenants across our city.

New Yorkers need more of this. We’ll keep fighting to win policies that enable working class New Yorkers to keep our hard-earned money and remain in the city we call home. 

Support local organizing with a monthly recurring donation: 

Start a $5 monthly recurring donation

Start a $10 monthly recurring donation

Start a $25 monthly recurring donation

Thank you for joining us in this work! And congratulations on this win, that will directly impact so many of us. 

In solidarity,

Jose