Does CityFHEPS Pay a Broker Fee? What Brokers Get Paid in 2026

Yes. When a licensed broker places a CityFHEPS household, the NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) pays the broker a fee of up to 15% of the annual rent. The city pays it by check. The tenant pays nothing toward it, and the landlord doesn't either.

On a two-bedroom at the 2026 payment standard of $2,997, that is up to $5,394.60 for one placement.

Two things can stop the check: an affiliation between you and the landlord, or a unit that fails the building conditions on HRA's broker form. And the 15% itself may not last. In June 2026 HRA told the City Council it plans to pay brokers "significantly less than in the past," reportedly capping the fee at one month's rent. As of September 2026 we have not found a published rule or form making that change. Details below.

Last checked: September 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

What HRA Says It Pays

HRA's page for landlords and brokers lists "a broker's fee equal to up to 15% of the annual rent" for both CityFHEPS and FHEPS. The January 2026 edition of the CityFHEPS FAQ for Landlords and Brokers (DSS-8j) says the same thing: "A broker's fee up to 15% of the annual rent."

The fee is a percentage of the contract rent, so it moves with the unit. At the 2026 CityFHEPS payment standards (packages submitted on or after March 1, 2026, all utilities included):

Those are ceilings. If the lease rent is below the payment standard, 15% of the lower rent is the most you can claim. The payment standards come from the same DSS-8j form; our CityFHEPS payment standards post explains how utilities lower them.

Who Qualifies for the Fee

The form that gets you paid is the HRA-121, Broker's Request for Enhanced Fee Payment by Check. It says HRA will issue the check "for households that are exiting DHS and HRA shelters as well as certain other households if the tenant is otherwise eligible," and only if you meet every one of these conditions:

• You verified the unit has a current Certificate of Occupancy from the Department of Buildings (or equivalent confirmation that its use complies with local standards).
• The unit's use or occupancy hasn't been changed in a way that conflicts with that certificate.
• There are no dangerous or hazardous violations on the premises.
• You hold a current broker's license in good standing.
• You are "not the owner, controlling person, or an affiliate of the owner."
• The lease is for one year or longer.

The certificate of occupancy line is the one brokers skip. Illegal basement units and converted cellars fail it, and so does a legal two-family that has been cut into three. Pull the C of O on the DOB site before you show the unit, not after the tenant falls in love with it.

The Affiliation Rule Is Where Fees Get Clawed Back

HRA does not pay a broker who is really the landlord. The CityFHEPS Landlord Package (DSS-8f, April 2026) makes the landlord sign a page of representations when a broker is involved. Among them:

• The property owner is not the sales agent, associate broker, or individual broker.
• No one who owns or controls the unit also owns or controls the brokerage, or works for it as a broker, employee or salesperson.
• The owner will not receive any part of the broker's fee.
• The broker is not otherwise employed by the owner for services related to the property, "e.g., property manager."
• Broker's fees do not apply to HPD units leased through a housing lottery or centralized homeless referral.

That property-manager line catches a lot of people. If you manage the building, you can't also take the CityFHEPS fee on it.

This is enforced. The city's Department of Investigation reported in 2023 that in all 38 placements it examined for three brokerages, the brokers were affiliated with the landlords, and DSS had paid more than $100,000 in fees it shouldn't have. The State Comptroller's January 2026 audit of CityFHEPS found a case where DSS paid $6,800 before learning the landlord and broker shared a parent company, and said DSS was recouping it. DSS's response to that audit says packages are now returned when the landlord's broker page and the HRA-121 don't match.

The HRA-121 itself warns that a false statement is a Class A misdemeanor under Penal Law section 175.30, and you agree to refund the fee if the tenant never moves in.

What You Can and Cannot Collect From the Tenant

Nothing, beyond what every applicant pays. On the HRA-121 you certify that you "have not requested any fees directly from the tenant, other than, if applicable, an incidental apartment application fee required of all tenant applicants." The form also says the HRA check "represents the entire broker's fee."

HRA tells tenants the same thing in its client FAQ (DSS-7r): "Brokers should not ask you to pay any additional broker fees because DSS is paying your broker's fee," and side deals, meaning extra upfront or monthly payments, are prohibited. Tenants are told to report those to the NYC Commission on Human Rights.

Refusing a CityFHEPS client, or steering them away from a listing, is source-of-income discrimination under the NYC Human Rights Law, and brokers are covered. See can a landlord refuse Section 8 in NYC for what counts.

How the Fee Gets Paid

The broker paperwork rides inside the housing packet. The DSS-8h packet cover sheet for shelter clients asks, "If a Broker was used, did you include the following documents?" and lists two: the HRA-121 and the broker license. Your name, phone and email also go on the tenant contact form (DSS-8b).

In practice:

• The unit is registered on DSS's offer site, cleared, and passes the walkthrough.
• The landlord completes the DSS-8f, including the broker page with your agency, name, license number and address.
• You complete and sign the HRA-121 with the fee amount, your license number and your signature.
• The tenant's housing specialist submits the full packet. An HRA-121 that doesn't match the landlord's broker page gets the packet returned.
• After approval, HRA issues the checks. DSS-8j says the checks "may be mailed or may be picked up by the housing specialist."

HRA doesn't publish a turnaround time for the broker check. A clean packet on the first submission is the fastest route, because every return restarts review.

Is the Fee Being Cut to One Month's Rent?

Possibly. This is the part to watch.

In June 2026, The Real Deal reported that HRA plans to cap CityFHEPS broker fees at one month's rent, and that HRA Administrator Scott French told the Council at a budget hearing that fees would be "significantly less than in the past." A one-month cap would take the two-bedroom example above from $5,394.60 to $2,997.

What we could confirm as of September 2026:

• HRA's landlord page still lists "up to 15% of the annual rent."
• The current HRA-121 (dated June 2021) still says "up to 15% of the annual rent."
• The landlord package revised April 1, 2026 still carries the broker page with no fee change.
• We found no adopted or proposed CityFHEPS rule on the city's rules site that changes the broker fee.

So the 15% is what the published documents say today. If HRA changes it, we expect it to show up first on the HRA-121 and the landlords page. Ask the housing specialist which HRA-121 version the packet needs before you quote a fee to anyone.

For scale: DSS told the Comptroller it paid $22.6 million in broker's fees to 1,288 brokers between January 26, 2022 and February 28, 2025, an average of about $17,500 per broker. That is the line item the city is looking at.

FHEPS and Veterans: The Close Cousins

• FHEPS (the state program) also lists a broker fee of up to 15% of the annual rent, but HRA's FHEPS landlord fact sheet (HRA-146q) limits it to families leaving HRA or DHS shelter, "for as long as funding remains available."
• Homeless veterans: HRA lists a 15% broker bonus for brokers who place homeless veterans in units subsidized by HUD-VASH, HPD Section 8 or MRT vouchers.
• NYCHA Section 8 has its own broker fee program through its Housing Navigation Unit, with a different form and a 30-day filing window after the tenant gets keys.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I charge the tenant a broker fee on top of the CityFHEPS fee?

No. The HRA-121 makes you certify that you asked the tenant for nothing beyond an application fee charged to every applicant, and the HRA check is the whole fee.

Does the FARE Act change the CityFHEPS broker fee?

The FARE Act stops a landlord's broker from charging the tenant. It doesn't mention government-paid fees, and as of September 2026 HRA hasn't published guidance on how the two fit together. HRA's forms still request the fee the same way they did before the law took effect in June 2025.

I manage the building. Can I still take the fee?

No. The landlord package rules out a broker "otherwise employed by the owner for services related to the property," and names property managers as the example.

Does CityFHEPS pay a broker fee on a room?

HRA's landlord documents list the broker fee without saying whether it covers room rentals, which have their own $1,100 maximum rent. Confirm with the housing specialist before you work a room placement expecting a fee.

Who do I call about a missing broker check?

The HRA Rental Assistance Call Center, 718-557-1399, weekdays 9 AM to 5 PM, or HRA's online inquiry form. Have the tenant's name and the unit address ready.

If you place voucher clients regularly, VoucherMatch for brokers keeps your clients, their shopping letters and the listings that fit them in one place, and every landlord on the site has already said yes to vouchers.