You have been on the house hunt grind for what feels like forever, and just as you are nearing your wits’ end… you find it! The one! The dream apartment that makes all those hours of scrolling, of running from one open house to another, worthwhile.

But, is it too good to be true? Turns out that perfect two-bed, two-bath in the right neighborhood, at the right price point comes with the dreaded broker fee…

In ultra-hyped rental markets like New York City and Boston, landlords work hand in hand with licensed apartment brokers – the folks who post enticing listing photos, host open houses, and process applications. Sounds like a job for the landlord to fund, right? Nope. In these cities, the joke is on the tenant, who gets slapped with that fee.

There was a brief, glorious moment in 2020 when tenant broker fees were banned in New York City. But, alas, just four days later, some judge decided to walk that ruling back, leaving us back at square one, which – by the numbers – is not a great place to be.

According to Gothamist, broker fees swallow about 15% of annual rent, and in some cases even more. One young renter posted a TikTok video in May complaining of the nearly $8,000 broker fee that he and his roommates had to front on top of their first month’s rent and security deposit. The group was out a total of $18,920 before even getting keys to their new place. Ouch.

New York City Council Member Chi Ossé introduced a new measure that would require the person who enlists a broker in the first place to foot the bill.

“We’re not eliminating the broker fee,” Ossé said. “We’re just putting the responsibility on whomever hires the broker. Just like every other service — where if an individual hires [someone], they pay the price.”

Calls to cap or reallocate the broker fee burden are growing louder than ever, as rental costs and broker commissions continue to rise.