NYC FARE Act Requirements for Apartment Landlords and Multifamily Operators: Listing Disclosures, Fee Records and the Proposed All-In Rule

What the FARE Act requires, duty by duty

The Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act, Local Law 119 of 2024, added Subchapter 15 to Chapter 4 of Title 20 of the NYC Administrative Code, effective June 11, 2025 (DCWP FAQ).

The FARE Act leaves background and credit check fees alone (DCWP FAQ, question 2). Real Property Law 238-a(1)(a) bars fees "for the processing, review or acceptance of an application", apart from those screening fees or where a statute or regulation provides for a charge. Subdivision 1(b) caps the combined screening charge at "the actual cost of the background check and credit check or twenty dollars, whichever is less", requires a copy of the report and the screening vendor's receipt or invoice, and waives the fee when the applicant provides a check from the past thirty days (RPL 238-a).

Landlord liability for a broker's fee

A landlord is liable if its own agent or a listing agent charges a tenant a fee to rent an apartment. And "there is a rebuttable presumption that an agent who publishes a listing for the rental of an apartment does so with the permission or authorization of the landlord" (DCWP FAQ, Admin. Code 20-699.21(b), (e)).

A co-broke listing you never saw can still be yours. Three controls:

1. Written broker terms. Outside broker agreements say the landlord pays its broker and no tenant fee may be requested on a landlord-side listing.
2. A known-listings register. Per building, record which brokers may list it and where; investigate any other listing that week.
3. A rebuttal file. Dated proof you did not authorize a rogue listing and asked for its removal.

Channel by channel: where the listing disclosure duty lands

The disclosure rule covers "all advertisements or listings", so every channel below carries it. In Brynson's analysis of 6,000 properties and 1.6 million units, nearly 89% of communities described themselves differently depending on the listing site. Although 97% of listings had been updated within the previous 90 days, properties routinely showed conflicting mandatory fees, missing amenities and contradictory terms across channels.

Brynson works with Zillow, Apartments.com and other major ILSs as partners. To run the same test across every fee, use the fee transparency audit checklist; for what to capture and keep, see compliance evidence retention.

Eight FARE Act mistakes we see operators make

Where multi-channel NYC portfolios slip in practice.

1. 01

   Saying "no fee" while a co-broke listing still charges one

   Your website says no broker fee, but an outside agent's listing of the same unit asks for one. Because a publishing agent is presumed authorized, the landlord carries the exposure. Search your addresses on the portals monthly.

2. 02

   A different fee line on every channel

   The website lists the amenity fee at one amount, one ILS shows an older amount and StreetEasy shows none. The weakest channel sets your risk. Fix the PMS and feed mapping, then recheck after the next sync.

3. 03

   Fees behind a link labelled "fees may apply"

   A footnote, hover or separate PDF is, in our view, a weak answer to "clear and conspicuous". Put required fees beside the rent on the same card.

4. 04

   Screening charges above the RPL 238-a limits

   RPL 238-a allows a background and credit check charge at actual cost or $20, whichever is less, and bars a general application processing fee. An "application fee" that bundles admin or processing costs on top of screening is the line to remove.

5. 05

   Steering applicants to an in-house or dual agent

   Leasing scripts that say "you'll need to work with our agent" break the rule against conditioning a rental on a particular agent or a dual agent. Check scripts and lead auto-replies.

6. 06

   Signing the disclosure in the same packet as the lease

   The tenant must sign the itemized disclosure before the lease. One e-sign packet makes the order hard to prove; send it as its own envelope.

7. 07

   Losing the signed disclosure at staff turnover

   Three years outlasts many leasing teams and software contracts. Store it with the lease and include it in any vendor export.

8. 08

   Recycled listing descriptions

   Descriptions written before June 11, 2025 can still carry "broker fee" or "one month fee" text when a unit is relisted. Search active descriptions for fee words and lock the template.

The itemized fee disclosure: a field list and a three-year file

A field list for counsel to turn into your document, not a compliant form.

How to bring one NYC building into line with the FARE Act

Run it on one building, then template it for the portfolio. Steps one and three take most of the time.

Time needed: 4 hours

1. 1

   List every fee a tenant must pay

   Export the building's fee codes from the PMS and mark which ones every renter of a unit must pay. Remove any landlord-side broker fee and check the screening charge against RPL 238-a.

2. 2

   Write one approved fee line

   Turn the required fees into a single approved sentence with names and amounts. That sentence is what every channel must show.

3. 3

   Inventory every channel

   Find every live listing for the building: website, StreetEasy, each ILS, outside brokers and ads. Record who controls each one.

4. 4

   Fix at the source

   Correct the PMS fee codes and feed mapping so the approved line reaches each syndicated channel, and send the line to every authorized broker in writing.

5. 5

   Update broker agreements

   Add written terms that the landlord pays its broker and that no tenant fee may be requested for a landlord-side listing.

6. 6

   Split the disclosure from the lease

   Build the itemized disclosure as its own signed document, sent before the lease, with a copy to the tenant and a three-year retention date.

7. 7

   Keep dated evidence and recheck

   Capture each channel after the fix with a date, recheck after the next feed sync and repeat monthly.

Penalties and enforcement

DCWP enforces: it issues a summons heard at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), and a sustained charge brings a civil penalty and possibly restitution of illegal fees. For violations and penalties, the FAQ points to 6 RCNY 6-89. The law also gives individuals a private right of action in civil court (DCWP FAQ, Admin. Code 20-699.23 and 20-699.24).

We do not quote a dollar figure here: check the current 6 RCNY 6-89 schedule with counsel. For obligations signed before June 11, 2025, the FAQ says the ban "may not apply" depending on circumstances: a counsel question, not a policy.

The next layer: DCWP's proposed all-in pricing rule

On July 8, 2026, DCWP published a proposed rule that would add 6 RCNY 5-16, "General Fee Disclosures" (DCWP release). The comment deadline and public hearing were both August 7, 2026 (Notice of Public Hearing). What the text says:

• Scope. It "applies to any person who offers, displays or advertises goods or services in New York City, or to a New York City consumer", except where federal or state law preempts it. The rule text does not name rental housing; the statement of basis lists "rental housing" among industries with common junk fees and calls the rule "industry-neutral".
• Total price. Every advertised price must show the total price, mandatory fees included, at least as prominently as other pricing. For monthly charges that is one month's total, plus the total of one-time mandatory fees. Government taxes and fees are excluded from the total.
• Mandatory. Fees not reasonably avoidable, plus fees for parts a reasonable person expects included.
• Before payment. A breakdown of excluded fees and the final amount.
• Records. The basis for every fee, on request; a missing record creates a presumption that DCWP's alleged fact is true.
• Other laws. The rule does not replace existing price disclosure requirements in other sections of Title 6 of the Rules of the City of New York or in Title 20 of the Administrative Code, where the FARE Act sits.
• Penalties. The proposed 6 RCNY 6-47 row lists $525, $1,050 and $3,500 for first, second and later violations, while the July 10 release says junk fee fines start "at $350 per violation". The adopted rule will settle it.

Status: as of October 22, 2026, the NYC Rules site still lists the rule as proposed; the August 7 comment deadline has passed (NYC Rules: Junk Fees). No adoption or effective date has been published.

Massachusetts comparison: the 2025 broker fee change

Section 43 adds no listing disclosure, signed itemized disclosure or listing-agent presumption. Massachusetts' general junk fee regulation, 940 CMR 38.00, is separate; DCWP's statement of basis cites it as a similar approach. See the state fee law table.

Frequently asked questions