Who Pays the Broker Fee in Massachusetts? The 2025 Law

Table of Contents

What the Law Says
What Changed on August 1, 2025
One Year In: How the Law Is Being Enforced (2026 Update)
How It Affects Renters
How It Affects Landlords
What About Tenant-Hired Brokers?
Penalties for Violations
What This Means for the Boston Rental Market
Common Misconceptions
Broker's Take
Frequently Asked Questions

If you've rented in Greater Boston at any point in the last 30 years, you probably paid a broker fee — typically one month's rent — even if you never hired a broker yourself. That changed on August 1, 2025.

Massachusetts is now one of the few states in the country where the law explicitly dictates who pays the rental broker fee. The rule is simple: the party who hires the broker pays the fee.In practice, that almost always means the landlord. If you're a renter who's been handed a broker fee invoice by a landlord's agent, that's no longer legal.

Here's everything you need to know — as a renter, a landlord, or an investor trying to understand how this reshapes the Greater Boston market.

What the Law Says

The broker fee provision was signed into law by Governor Healey on July 4, 2025, as part of the FY2026 state budget. It was added to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 112, as Section 87DDD½ — the chapter governing licensed real estate brokers and salespersons.

The operative language is direct:

“Any fee shall only be paid by the party, lessor or tenant, who originally engaged and entered into a contract with the licensed broker or salesperson.”

The law was developed with guidance issued by both the Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons and the Attorney General's office, who also published a full FAQ on residential rental broker fees.

Massachusetts Broker Fee Law — Key Facts

Effective: August 1, 2025
Signed: July 4, 2025 (an outside section of the FY2026 budget, Chapter 7 of the Acts of 2025)
Statute: MGL Chapter 112, §87DDD½
Rule: The party who hires the broker pays the fee
Penalty: Up to 3× the fee charged + attorney's fees
Scope: Residential rentals only (not commercial, not home purchases)

What Changed on August 1, 2025

Before the law, Greater Boston operated on a landlord-favorable convention: the landlord hired a broker to market and lease their property, and the tenant ended up footing the bill — typically one month's rent — as a condition of getting the apartment. This was legal, common, and largely unquestioned.

The new law doesn't eliminate broker fees. It reassigns who owes them. The broker can still charge the same fee — they just have to collect it from whoever contracted with them. In most cases, that's the landlord.

One Year In: How the Broker Fee Law Is Being Enforced (2026 Update)

The law has now been in effect for more than a year. The short version: the state is enforcing it, the loophole some brokers hoped for has been shut, and the bill that would have gone further never made it out of committee. Here's what has actually happened since August 1, 2025.

The “open listing” argument — and why the state rejected it

By spring 2026, the Attorney General's office had received more than a dozen complaints about landlords and agents still trying to collect fees from renters. The most common workaround, per WBUR's May 14, 2026 reporting: some brokers argued that because they never signed a written contract with the landlord — they were simply advertising an “open listing” online — they weren't technically “hired” by anyone, so the tenant who called could be charged.

On May 21, 2026, Governor Healey and Attorney General Campbell issued a joint warning that closed that door. The operative line:

“The fact that no formal contract exists with a landlord does not necessarily mean a broker can charge a fee to a tenant.”

The state's position is that a broker may only charge a tenant when working solelyon the tenant's behalf. Requiring a tenant to pay for services that were even partly provided to the landlord — listing the unit, showing it, screening applicants — violates the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, Chapter 93A. Governor Healey added that brokers who keep trying are “at risk of losing their license.”

The same release shows how enforcement is working in practice. Most cases are resolved without a lawsuit: the AG's office helped one renter recover a full refund of nearly $1,000 after a landlord charged an illegal broker fee, and got a $400 “lease document” fee waived for a tenant who was charged simply for moving between units in the same building.

What the State Has Clarified Since August 2025

Renamed fees are banned: “admin,” “selection,” “finder's,” and “leasing” fees are treated as broker fees
No dual representation: a broker cannot represent both the landlord and the tenant on the same rental
Written disclosure before signing: the broker must state in writing who hired them, who pays, and how much (254 CMR 7.00)
No rent surcharge: landlords cannot inflate first or last month's rent to recoup the fee
Pre-law leases are grandfathered: a lease signed before August 1, 2025 can still carry a tenant-paid fee
Two sets of penalties: landlords owe up to 3× the fee plus attorney's fees under Chapter 93A; brokers face Division of Occupational Licensure fines, suspension, or revocation

Source: EOHLC FAQ on residential rental broker's fees

The bill that would have gone further did not pass

Separately from the budget provision, Senator Lydia Edwards filed S.224, “An Act eliminating forced broker's fees” , which would have barred brokers from collecting anyfee from a tenant or prospective tenant and set fines of up to $1,000 per violation. It got a hearing in July 2025 and was sent to study on November 10, 2025 — the Legislature's polite way of shelving a bill. It has not passed. The rule that governs today is the one described above: whoever hires the broker pays.

Where to file a complaint

Attorney General's Consumer Advocacy & Response Division — 617-727-8400. Reviews every complaint; has secured refunds without formal enforcement.
Division of Occupational Licensure, Office of Investigations — 617-701-8756. Complaints here go to the Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons, which can fine, suspend, or revoke a broker's license.
Boston Office of Housing Stability — 617-635-4200. For renters inside the City of Boston; the city has its own plain-language explainer.

Keep the listing, every text and email with the agent, and the receipt or ledger entry for the fee. That paper trail is what turns a complaint into a refund.

What This Means in 2026

For renters: if you found the apartment through a listing, the agent works for the landlord — no matter what the agent calls the relationship or the fee. You owe nothing unless you signed a written agreement hiring that agent to search on your behalf before they showed you anything. If you paid anyway, you can get it back, and the state has shown it will help.
For landlords:the fee is yours, full stop. Don't let an agent “open list” your unit and quietly bill the tenant — the complaint lands on you as well as the broker, and the 3× penalty is measured against a fee you never collected. Budget one month's rent per turnover and price the unit accordingly.

How It Affects Renters

If you find an apartment through a broker who was hired by the landlord:

You cannot be charged a broker fee
A landlord cannot condition your rental on you paying their broker's fee
If you are charged, you may be entitled to up to 3× the amount back plus attorney's fees

The law does not cap what landlords can charge in rent. It does not make apartments cheaper overnight. But it does remove a cost that was often a surprise $3,000–$5,000 line item on top of first month, last month, and security deposit. For a practical breakdown of how the rental process works under the new rules, see our Renter's Guide.

How It Affects Landlords

If you own rental property and have historically passed the broker fee to tenants, you now have two options:

1.Pay the broker fee yourself — and factor it into your hold costs and pricing strategy
2.Advertise no-fee listings — which actually increases your competitive appeal with tenants

The math isn't as punishing as it sounds. A broker fee on a $2,800/month apartment is roughly one month's rent — $2,800. If absorbing that cost helps you place a qualified tenant faster, avoid a vacancy month ($2,800 lost), and reduces turnover friction, it's often neutral or better on net.

What Landlords Should Budget For

Assume 1 month's rent as a broker fee per tenancy turnover. On a $3,000/month unit, that's $3,000 per lease cycle — a real cost, but one that can be partially offset by tighter vacancy management, longer lease terms, and attracting higher-quality tenants with no-fee listings.

Landlords navigating the new landscape — especially those with multi-family portfolios — should revisit their turnover cost models. Our Landlord's Guide walks through the full cost structure.

What About Tenant-Hired Brokers?

The law does allow tenants to hire their own broker. If you, as a renter, independently engage a licensed broker to represent you in a rental search — to show you listings, negotiate on your behalf, and advocate for your interests — you can agree to pay that broker a fee.

The key distinction: the broker must be working exclusively for you, not for the landlord. If an agent is showing you an apartment they listed for a landlord, they cannot charge you a fee under any framing.

This is an important protection because some agents have attempted to reframe landlord-side relationships as “tenant representation.” If an agent is showing you their own listing, they are not your broker — they are the landlord's broker.

Penalties for Violations

The law has real teeth. Landlords who violate it face:

Up to 3× the broker fee paid as a penalty to the tenant
Attorney's fees if the tenant pursues legal action
Potential AG enforcement

The Attorney General's office has published enforcement guidance and, as of 2026, is actively securing refunds (see the enforcement update above). If you believe you've been illegally charged a broker fee after August 1, 2025, the AG's advisory outlines your recourse.

What This Means for the Greater Boston Rental Market

Greater Boston is one of the most expensive rental markets in the country. The broker fee shift doesn't change supply or demand — but it does change who absorbs transaction costs, and that has real downstream effects:

No-fee listings are now the competitive baseline — landlords who offer them attract more applicants, faster
Tenant qualification improves — removing the upfront cash burden means more financially stable renters can compete for units
Smaller landlords feel it more — institutional landlords with in-house leasing teams are unaffected; the 2–4 unit owner-occupant is the most directly impacted
Longer leases become more attractive — if landlords absorb a fee each cycle, reducing turnover frequency has a direct ROI

For investors underwriting multi-family acquisitions in 2025 and beyond, the broker fee is now a line item in your operating cost model — not an externalized expense.

Common Misconceptions

"The law eliminated broker fees in Massachusetts."

No. Brokers can still charge fees — they're just charged to the party that hired them, not passed to the other side.

"I can still charge the tenant if they sign an agreement."

No. A tenant cannot waive this protection contractually. Any lease clause requiring a tenant to pay the landlord's broker fee is unenforceable.

"This applies to home purchases too."

No. The law is limited to residential rentals. Buyer's agent commissions, seller's concessions, and purchase-side broker fees are governed by a separate framework (see: the NAR settlement).

"I can just call it something other than a 'broker fee'."

No. The AG advisory explicitly covers rebranded fees — "administrative fee," "finder's fee," "listing fee" — if paid to a broker for locating a tenant, it's covered by the law.

Broker's Take

Christian Fernandez — Broker/Owner, Zenith Residential Properties

The law changed the math for landlords, but it didn't change the reality for our clients — because we'd already been working around it.

For our returning landlord base, we've built leasing workflows that reduce the time a unit sits vacant to a fraction of the market average. We leverage internal technology to pre-market units before they turn, qualify applicants faster, and compress the gap between notice and signed lease. When you can consistently place a tenant in days rather than weeks, the broker fee stops being a loss — it becomes the cost of not losing a full month of rent.

Clients who've worked with us across multiple cycles have seen us get creative on fee structures precisely because we can back it up with results. If you're a landlord reassessing your leasing strategy under the new law, that's the conversation worth having. Reach out directly.

Massachusetts Broker Fee Law: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Massachusetts broker fee law of 2025?

A law effective August 1, 2025 that requires the party who hires the broker to pay the broker fee. In residential rentals, that's almost always the landlord. It was signed by Governor Healey on July 4, 2025 as part of the FY2026 state budget and is codified at MGL Chapter 112, §87DDD½.

Who pays the broker fee in Massachusetts in 2026?

The party who originally engaged and contracted with the broker. In nearly all residential rental cases, that's the landlord. If a tenant independently hires a broker to represent them exclusively, that tenant can agree to pay that broker.

Can a broker charge me if the landlord never signed a contract with them?

Almost never. Some brokers have argued that an "open listing" with no written landlord agreement means nobody hired them, so the tenant can be billed. The Governor and Attorney General rejected that argument on May 21, 2026: the absence of a formal contract with the landlord does not by itself allow a broker to charge a tenant. If the broker listed, marketed, or showed the unit, they provided a service to the landlord, and charging you for it violates Chapter 93A. The only tenant-paid scenario is one where you hired the broker in writing to search on your behalf.

What do I do if I was charged a broker fee after August 1, 2025?

Gather the listing, your messages with the agent, and proof of payment. Then file a complaint with the Attorney General's Consumer Advocacy and Response Division (617-727-8400) and with the Division of Occupational Licensure (617-701-8756), which oversees broker licenses. Boston renters can also call the Office of Housing Stability at 617-635-4200. Many cases are resolved with a refund before any lawsuit; if not, you can sue for up to 3× the fee plus attorney's fees under Chapter 93A.

Can a landlord still charge a tenant a broker fee in Massachusetts?

No. A landlord cannot condition a rental on the tenant paying the landlord's broker fee, cannot rename it an admin, selection, finder's, or leasing fee, and cannot fold it into first or last month's rent. If charged illegally, the tenant can recover up to 3× the fee plus attorney's fees.

What is the penalty for charging an illegal broker fee in Massachusetts?

Up to 3 times the broker fee charged, plus attorney's fees for the tenant who brings the claim, plus potential Attorney General enforcement. Brokers additionally face fines, suspension, or revocation of their license. On a typical $3,000 broker fee, a landlord could owe a tenant up to $9,000 plus legal fees.

Can a tenant still hire their own broker in Massachusetts?

Yes. A tenant can engage a broker to represent them exclusively in a rental search and agree to pay that broker. The broker must work only for the tenant, disclose the fee in writing before a lease is signed, and cannot also represent the landlord.

Does the MA broker fee law apply to agents who show a landlord's listing?

Yes. Any agent showing you a landlord's listing — even one who markets themselves as "tenant representation" or claims the listing is "open" — is providing a service to the landlord and cannot charge you a fee.

When did the Massachusetts broker fee law take effect?

August 1, 2025. Leases executed before that date are grandfathered, so a tenant-paid fee agreed in a lease signed in July 2025 could still be collected. Anything signed on or after August 1, 2025 is covered by the new rule.

Does the MA broker fee law cap rent prices or eliminate broker fees entirely?

No. The law does not cap rent, eliminate broker fees, or affect security deposits. It only reassigns who is responsible for paying the fee. Landlords may set a new rent for a new tenancy, but they cannot add a broker fee surcharge to the rent.

Who Pays the Broker Fee in Massachusetts? The 2025 Law, Explained.