Kerrie Joyce 
If you’re a renter in Hoboken, which, according to RentCafe, 66 percent of us are, then you are all too familiar with the added strings and unexpected costs that come along with moving into a new apartment. Between application fees, first month’s rent, security deposits, setting up utilities, furniture, and of course, broker fees, the cost of moving into a new place is more than enough to break the bank. Renters in New York City, however, are celebrating the implementation of the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act— stating that as of June 11th, 2025, it is illegal for brokers who represent landlords to charge broker fees to tenants. Read on for more information about the new law and the status of broker fees in Hoboken.
About the FARE Act
The Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act ushers in a massive change in the process and pricing of moving into a new apartment in NYC. For many years prior to the act, if you were to sign a new lease in New York City, you would be responsible for paying the application fee, first month’s rent, a security deposit, and a broker fee. The broker fee is a payment made to the real estate broker who showed you the unit, and is usually the equivalent of one month’s rent. While supporters say the ban of this practice is a win for tenants, others believe it might not be so cut and dry.
The law, which took effect June 11th, 2025, was passed by the New York City Council with a vote of 42-8, according to the Wall Street Journal, effectively ending the longtime policy that formerly placed the responsibility of paying broker fees onto tenants, despite the brokers most often being hired by landlords. Additionally, the Act says that, “Landlords or their agents must disclose other fees that the tenant must pay in their listings and rental agreements.”
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The FARE Act is projected to decrease the upfront cost of signing a new lease by approximately 42 percent for New Yorkers, whose broker fees average at 12 percent of the annual rent according to StreetEasy. In Hoboken, broker fees tend to be the cost of one month’s rent, or roughly the same percentage of annual rent as NYC.
Implementation — Would Housing Really be More Affordable?
While the policy is highly favorable among renters, especially those who are frequent movers due to being early-career, single, low-income, and/or students, the new law is not without its criticisms.
Notably, in immediate response to the Act’s passage, rent prices spiked overnight. As a reaction to the shift in liability for the costs, landlords unsurprisingly adjusted rents to compensate, some adjustments being at a much larger increase in monthly rent than others, including one Park Slope listing that threatened prospective tenants with a nearly $500 monthly rent increase if they did not sign a lease before the Act passed.
Criticism of the new law is understandably prevalent among those in the real estate industry, and was demonstrated when a similar ban was passed in 2020 and swiftly retracted as the result of a lawsuit filed by the Real Estate Board of New York.
Those in opposition to the bill also cite that long-term tenants will have to unfairly share the burden of rent increases with new tenants. However, surges like these may not be a permanent effect of the ban. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Analysts expected that any initial rent surges will taper off as the market adjusts to the new rule.”
Supporters of the bill claim that the Act is common sense, arguing that whoever hires a broker for their services should then pay the fee for those services. Prospective tenants who can afford the upfront cost remain free to hire brokers if they choose. The benefit of that ability could mean a breezier apartment search and transparency about potential units from a broker who works for you rather than a landlord.
Still, not everyone can afford that cost all at once, and some may prefer rent increases, distributing the additional cost incrementally monthly as opposed to a one-time large sum. This calls into question whether the FARE Act resolves New York City’s housing affordability crisis, or if it is only beneficial to those who are actively moving. With rent increases continuing at a steady rate in NYC and its surrounding areas even prior to the Act going into effect, the influence of broker fee bans on the housing market is yet to be known.
In Hoboken, supporters of a similar ban include Hoboken United Tenants, who collectively responded in a statement saying, “We would love to see a similar bill passed here in Hoboken. Broker fees are often double-dipped through the landlord and the broker, and this leads to an insurmountable up-front cost for many renters, in conjunction with security deposits and rent itself. The FARE Act sets a great example of how Hoboken can continue to keep renting a more equitable process in the Mile Square.”
In Hoboken
In the Mile Square, broker fees are a commonplace practice for renters seeking a new apartment, even when they do not hire the broker themselves. The rates are about the same as neighboring NYC, typically amounting to one month’s rent.
Earlier this year, the Hoboken City Council passed a new rent control ordinance with similar aims of tenant protection and transparency in costs. The recent ordinance requires landlords to provide information, including an itemized cost breakdown, if they increase rent by more than 10%. If landlords fail to provide the required information when increasing rent beyond 10%, they may be subject to fines of up to $1,000 per incident.
The same ordinance requires landlords to disclose whether rent-setting algorithms were used for the increase. An additional ordinance was introduced at a June 4th City Council meeting which would seek to ban the usage of such algorithms, which were successfully banned by the Jersey City Council in May. Per press release from the Hoboken City Council, the new ordinance would “make it unlawful for landlords renting residential dwelling units in Hoboken to engage in price-fixing through algorithmic rent-fixing. The ordinance defines algorithmic rent-fixing as the use of software, algorithms, or data-sharing platforms to coordinate, recommend, or implement rental prices, lease terms, or occupancy levels among competing landlords.”
The new ordinance comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the New Jersey Attorney General against software company RealPage and 10 NJ landlord corporations alleging collusion in a “rent-raising scheme.”
The Hoboken Girl reached out to the Hoboken City Council members to learn more about their thoughts on the topic. All Council members were contacted, and we will update this piece as we get more responses.
Hoboken City Council Member Phil Cohen said in a conversation with The Hoboken Girl that he had taken a look at the FARE Act and discussed it with both Mayor Bhalla and the Corporation Counsel’s Office. Councilman Cohen said that the new policy is something that the City Council is seriously considering, saying, “In principle, it makes sense, why shouldn’t the listing agent pay the broker’s fee? They are the ones benefiting from it. We know that rents are already high, so if this is something that could provide relief to tenants and be legal, then that is something that we are seriously thinking about. Sometimes other places have good ideas, and if it makes sense for us here in New Jersey, then we should do it too.”
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Councilman Cohen cited concerns over potential legal challenges to the Act, saying the Council seeks to pass similar legislation that is both “tenant-friendly and legally defensible” — and if successful, could go into effect as early as this year.
Councilman Paul Presinzano shared his thoughts on the concept. “I understand the intent, there are services that realtors give now because there are listings that only certain brokers have. Since there is a demand for housing, there is a need.” He continued, “There’s a lot of things downstream that the intent is good but there are some unintended consequences.”
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