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.

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.

Mandatory broker fees to be banned in New York City, easing the burden on renters - Tenants searching for an apartment in New York City have long been forced to pay thousands of dollars to real estate