Why it matters
By June 2026 the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection had received more than 2,000 FARE Act complaints and inquiries, issued 74 summonses alleging 100 violations, secured roughly $27,000 in penalties and returned about $15,000 in broker fees to renters. On July 14, 2026 the Second Circuit affirmed dismissal of REBNY's First Amendment and state-preemption claims; only a narrow contracts claim involving older tenant-pays agreements remains.
Enforcement is complaint-driven, and complaints are built from documents: the listing, the application packet, the fee sheet. By the time a renter is annoyed enough to file, the violation has usually been sitting in writing for weeks.
What it changes
Every fee a prospective tenant must pay has to appear clearly and conspicuously in the advertisement or listing itself — not in a follow-up email after they have seen the apartment.
Before lease signing the tenant receives an itemized written disclosure of all fees with a description of each, signs it, and the landlord keeps it for three years.
A landlord’s agent — the listing agent included — cannot pass that agent’s fee to the tenant. Tenant-side representation is still lawful when the tenant independently engages the broker; the engagement is what matters, not the label on the invoice.
Penalties and restitution attach per violation, under the schedule at 6 RCNY § 6-89. Seventy-four summonses out of more than 2,000 complaints and inquiries is a screening rate, not a safety margin.
The main appeal has been decided against REBNY. The remaining legacy-contract claim does not change the rule for a listing agreement signed today.
Use this language
The fee line, in a rental listing
No broker fee payable by the tenant. Tenant-paid move-in costs: first month’s rent $X,XXX, security deposit $X,XXX, application/credit check $20, building move-in fee $XXX (refundable deposit $XXX). No other fees are payable by the tenant to the landlord or the landlord’s agent.
Next steps
- Open every live rental listing you have and confirm the fee line is visible on the first screen.
- Standardize one itemized disclosure form across the office and file the signed copies where you can find them in three years.
- Give the same one-paragraph explanation to everyone who answers the phone.
- Re-read the current DCWP guidance before you quote a fee on a new building.
From field note to send
See what the listing email actually looks like
Compare the four single-listing designs before deciding whether a $99 send fits this property.