broker's fee charged by landlord when no service was pr

[yohomyrvaagnes]

I signed a lease for an apartment I was already living in at the time as the roommate of the lease holder. When I signed the lease, the landlord required that I pay a fee to a brokerage firm (called Y2K Realty, LLC) equal to one month's rent. I believe this fee is illegal, or at the very least not possible to enforce by law, and since the realty broker provided no service to me whatsoever (aside from running a credit check on me, for which I paid $35 seperately) I believe they have no right to charge me this. The lease itself does not say anything whatsoever about this fee, and moreover I never signed the piece of paper stapled to it which said "fee will not be refunded". This "broker's fee" (which they've sometimes called "not a broker's fee" when I've talked to them) is seperate from both my rent and my security deposit. I want to be sure I am on safe legal ground here to refuse payment of the check (I have placed a stop payment order on it until I can ascertain the legality of it). Thanks very much for your help.

Here's what the tenants' rights handbook says:

"The broker must assist the client in finding and obtaining an apartment before a commission may be charged."
(http://www.oag.state.ny.us/realestate/h ... ty.html#32)

I take this to mean that they are required by law to provide a service. They didn't. At the very least, I don't see how the landlord or the broker (whichever one--they seem to be working together as one entity, bordering on a conflict of interest) can challenge me. Further, they've mishandled my security deposit breaking the rule that requires them to deposit it in its own separate bank account, so I think they will be even less inclined to take me to court or attempt to evict me.
Please advise me about my legal options and also about the real situation I may face by refusing to pay this fee.
Thanks very much for your assistance.
Yours,
Yoho Myrvaagnes

[Anna]

You didn't refuse to pay the 'broker', you stopped payment on a check. That's what they sue you for; your defense is what you wrote about.

Check them out on http://bbb.org/ and on http://nyc.gov/html/dca/home.html

Search the TN forums for 'Brooklyn' for community agencies that may help you.