New York City now requires landlords to pay broker fees. Should Boston do the same?

Renting in Boston is expensive, and some are looking to New York's recent model for relief.

The New York City Council voted this week to ban broker fees for tenants, shifting the financial burden to landlords.

Some Boston residents are calling for the city to do the same, and Mayor Michelle Wu says she's supportive of exploring the idea.

"Boston is now the last major city in the country where tenants can still be forced to pay brokers fees, and those are often in the range of thousands of dollars and can be prohibitive," Wu said.

"If I didn't have to pay a brokers fee? That would be awesome," said Abby McDonald, a renter in Allston.

"Anything to just keep rent down, people to just afford bills, take care of what they've got to take care of, I think would be nice," said Drew Robertson, who rents in Brighton.

Some in the real estate world are more skeptical of the idea.

"I think it's a misguided policy that takes away from the real issue at hand, which is zoning reform," said Demetrios Salpoglou, CEO of Boston Pads.

Salpoglou says a lack of housing supply is the bigger problem.

"If we increase the amount of supply, we would have landlords that would instantly drop prices and pay the fees," he said. "And so I think we have to look at it from that perspective."

He also argues that landlords could potentially raise rent even more to cover the costs of that broker commission.

"I think ultimately, it leads to less choices and probably drives the rent higher," Salpoglou said.

According to data from Boston Pads, 70% of landlords in Boston currently do not pay broker fees.