NYC Broker-Fee Law Challenge May Be Moot, Second Circuit Hints

New York City real estate groups might no longer have a basis for seeking to block enforcement of a municipal law requiring landlords, rather than tenants, pay fees for hiring brokers to list and rent out apartments, the Second Circuit signaled Monday.

The Real Estate Board of New York, New York State Association of Realtors Inc., and other real estate groups say the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act interferes with private contracts between landlords and brokers, but judges emphasized that all of the contracts noted in the complaint have since expired.

Senior Judge Barrington D. Parker seemed baffled by ...