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.

New York is one of the few cities where tenants paid broker fees instead of landlords. 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.

Tenants searching for an apartment in New York City have long been forced to pay thousands of dollars to real estate brokers

The City Council approved a bill on Wednesday that would curb a loathed New York City real estate practice: making renters pay thousands of dollars in broker fees.

The New York City Council passed a bill Wednesday to have NYC landlords pay for broker fees, instead of tenants.

New York renters would no longer be on the hook for costly broker fees when signing a new apartment lease, under a measure passed by the city council Wednesday.

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.