By Harry Kane

Renter-paid broker’s fees are a thing of the past thanks to a new rule that eliminates these expenses for renters and shifts responsibility to landlords.

Gov. Maura Healey signed the FY26 state budget, which includes a provision that requires the party that hires a broker to pay the fee. The new rule will go into effect August 1.

“As the costs of relocation have surged with tenants often needing to pay the equivalent of four months’ rent to secure a new apartment, we are grateful to the Governor and the Statehouse for now ensuring that tenants will no longer have to pay realtor’s fees when a landlord engages a realtor to rent out a property,” said Mayor Katjana Ballantyne.

The affordable housing crisis is a growing concern among advocates seeking an equitable rental market, and this new legislation aims to reduce the financial burden for tenants. The average rent in Somerville is $3,278 for a one-bedroom apartment, which is 100 percent higher than the national average, according to Apartments.com.

“The City of Somerville works hard every day to try to ensure that residents who want to remain in Somerville have a way to do so that they can afford,” said Mayor Ballantyne. “While the challenge of high rental costs remains, this new law is an important step that lowers costs for tenants seeking to rent in Somerville.”

During prior city council meetings, City Councilors had expressed concerns regarding the costs of renting, citing forced renter-paid broker’s fees as an issue.

Back in late February, City Councilors passed a home rule petition requesting special legislation or an exemption that would make the party who solicits a licensed broker, which in most cases is a landlord or the rental property owners, responsible for paying the fees.

In the past, renters were typically required to pay a broker fee, which may be the equivalent of a month’s rent, plus first and last month’s rent and security deposit, according to the petition.

“This is an incredible barrier to entry for residents and an incredible barrier to retention,” said City Councilor Willie Burnley, Jr., at the February 27 City Council meeting prior to passing the home rule petition.

This petition was then sent to the Massachusetts State Legislature, and may have been a contributing factor in fast-tracking the new policy that will take effect on Aug. 1. Massachusetts follows in the footsteps of New York with the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act that went into effect on June 11.

“The days of renters being forced to shell out upwards of $10,000 before they can even move into an apartment are over,” said Gov. Maura Healey in a July 2 statement. “I proposed banning renter-paid broker’s fees because the cost of housing is already way too high in Massachusetts without adding thousands of dollars in fees for a service you didn’t hire.”

The elimination of forced broker’s fees is seen as a win for renters, but some opponents of the legislation say they anticipate that this new rule will result in higher rents to offset losses. Consequently, rising rents in Somerville would likely lead to tenants being priced out of the neighborhoods they call home.

More affordable housing may be the solution for renters seeking relief, but whether there’s enough low-income housing for individuals is at the heart of the matter. According to the city, 65 percent of residents in Somerville are renters.

“The city works in multiple ways to facilitate affordable housing construction, and currently 976 new units are in our affordable housing pipeline, which means these are real projects in some phase of actual planning, permitting, or construction that we fully expect to be completed in the coming years,” said Denise Taylor, director of the Office of Communications & Community Engagement.