In New York, unlike nearly every other part of the country, tenants usually pay the fee even though landlords usually hire the broker. Tenants and advocates rallying outside City Hall ahead of the vote said that’s the problem.

Broker fees in NYC will be covered by landlords, instead of tenants, under a new law passed Wednesday by the City Council.

Apartment hunters in New York City got good news on Wednesday when the City Council there passed a bill that would largely compel landlords, not tenants, to cover broker fees, that expensive charge tacked on to the cost of signing an apartment lease.

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.

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.

Landlords can no longer tack on thousands of dollars in fees to new tenants to pay brokers who show rental units.

A StreetEasy survey shows 81% of renters believe landlords, not renters, should pay these fees, and 78% felt they had no choice but to pay a broker fee to secure housing.

The Council on Wednesday approved the revised FARE Act, shifting broker fees from tenants to the hiring party, typically landlords.

The City Council voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to pass a bill banning landlords from forcing tenants to pay broker fees, though Mayor Adams has voiced concerns about the measure and could veto it.

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.