New York City Brokers Face Summonses Under FARE Act
Records obtained by The City Reporter show that in New York City, brokers are allegedly violating the FARE Act, a law that prohibits tenants from paying broker fees, which went into effect in June 2025. The Department of Consumer and…
New York, NY, October 29, 2026 —
New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection has issued summonses to brokers over practices that may violate the FARE Act, according to records obtained by The City Reporter. The law, which took effect in June 2025, prohibits tenants from paying broker fees.
The reported practices include disguising fees under other names, conditioning a rental on payment of a fee, and offering listings described as “off-market.” The records indicate that the agency’s actions have been accompanied by thousands of complaints, numerous summonses and financial penalties.
The allegations concern how rental fees are presented and whether tenants are required to pay them. The summary of the records does not identify the brokers who received summonses or specify the individual cases, the number of summonses, or the amounts of the financial penalties. It also does not say whether any of the allegations have been resolved or whether recipients have disputed them.
The available information does not provide a breakdown of the complaints or explain how many relate to each alleged practice. It likewise does not detail the agency’s process for reviewing complaints or issuing summonses. A summons is reported here as an agency action; the information provided does not establish the outcome of any particular case.
The records describe enforcement activity following the FARE Act’s June 2025 start, but do not include figures that would quantify the scale of individual enforcement measures. The contractor or brokers’ names, specific penalty amounts, and case outcomes were not provided. Further details about the records or the agency’s response were also not included in the summary.
Story summarized from the original created by Keyian Vafai and Samantha Maldonado on www.thecityreporter.nyc, see more information here.
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