NYC Move-In Costs: First Month, Deposit, and Broker Fees

TL;DR: For a typical NYC apartment, start your signing-cash estimate with the first month's rent plus a security deposit of no more than one month's rent. A landlord or listing agent cannot make you pay the landlord's broker fee under the FARE Act. Add a broker fee only if you independently chose to hire a broker, and add other required charges only after you receive the complete written fee disclosure.

If the monthly rent is $3,200 and the landlord requires a full one-month deposit, those two lines total $6,400. That is an illustration, not a universal quote: a landlord may require less security, a tenant-hired broker may add a negotiated fee, and separately lawful building or moving charges may apply.

The safest workflow is to ask for the total due before lease signing, total due at signing, payee for each line, and refund terms before you send money.

Build your move-in total in four lines

1. First month's rent

First month's rent is payment under the lease, not a security deposit. Confirm the lease start date and the amount due. If the term starts mid-month, ask whether the first payment is prorated or whether the credit appears in a later month. Do not infer the payment from a listing's net-effective rent; ask for the actual lease rent and written payment schedule.

2. Security deposit

New York generally limits a residential security deposit to one month's rent. The statutory route depends on the apartment: General Obligations Law § 7-107 addresses rent-stabilized housing, while § 7-108 contains the deposit-or-advance cap for other covered residential rentals. The New York Attorney General's current tenant guide summarizes the practical rule as a one-month limit. Limited statutory exceptions exist, so confirm the housing type if an owner claims a different rule applies.

A landlord does not get around the cap by renaming extra security as “last month's rent” or a separate pet deposit. Ask what each refundable amount secures and whether the combined deposit or advance exceeds one month.

The cap does not mean every landlord must collect a full month. If the requested deposit is lower, use the amount actually stated in writing.

For deductions, inspections, and the post-move-out return timeline, use the NYC security-deposit guide.

3. Broker fee: follow the hiring party

The NYC FARE Act took effect on June 11, 2025. It prohibits a broker who represents the landlord—including a listing agent—from charging that broker fee to the tenant. A landlord or agent also cannot make renting a particular apartment conditional on your hiring a broker or a particular agent.

A tenant may still independently choose a broker and agree to pay that broker. Before adding a broker fee to your budget, ask:

1. Who hired the broker?
2. Whom does the broker represent?
3. Did you independently choose the broker, or was access to the listing conditioned on hiring them?
4. What services and fee did you agree to in writing?

Do not treat every post-FARE listing as having a tenant-paid percentage fee. The correct fork is landlord/listing agent: tenant owes $0 for that broker's fee; independently hired tenant broker: negotiated fee may apply.

For a focused charge-by-charge legal screen, see what rental fees an NYC renter may be charged. For the law's market context, see the FARE Act impact analysis.

4. Other required charges

Under the FARE Act, apartment advertisements must clearly and conspicuously disclose fees a prospective tenant must pay to rent the apartment. Before the lease, the landlord or its agent must also provide an itemized written disclosure of fees owed to the landlord or someone acting at the landlord's direction. Each fee needs a written description; the tenant signs the disclosure before signing the lease and receives a copy.

That disclosure rule is not proof that every listed charge is lawful. It is the document you use to identify and question each charge.

Ask whether a line is:

• rent under the lease;
• a refundable security deposit;
• a screening or application charge;
• a tenant-broker fee under a separate agreement;
• a condo, co-op, or building charge;
• a moving reservation or refundable move-in deposit; or
• an optional third-party service.

Co-op and condo applications can involve different entities and fee rules. Request the building's written schedule and identify who imposes and receives every charge rather than applying the ordinary rental-building rules by assumption.

A $3,200 signing-cash example

For an ordinary apartment with $3,200 monthly rent, no independently hired tenant broker, and a full one-month security deposit:

| Line | Illustrative amount | What to verify | |---|---:|---| | First month's rent | $3,200 | Lease rent, start date, and proration | | Security deposit | $3,200 | Refundable status and one-month cap | | Landlord/listing-agent broker fee | $0 | Broker's agency relationship | | Other required charges | Not assumed | Itemized disclosure and legal basis | | Illustrative subtotal | $6,400 | Before separately lawful disclosed charges |

This table does not say every renter owes exactly two months at signing. Replace each line with the written amount for your transaction. If you independently hired a tenant broker, add only the fee in that agreement. Keep moving-company costs, utility setup, and purchases in a separate relocation budget so they do not become confused with landlord-directed signing charges.

Get the complete number before you apply

Send this before transferring a holding payment or scheduling the signing:

“Before I apply, please send the complete itemized list of every amount I would owe before or at lease signing, the payee and purpose of each amount, whether it is refundable, and the accepted payment method. Please also confirm whom each broker represents and whether any broker fee is required.”

Then compare the response with the listing, agency agreement, application terms, and draft lease. If a new charge appears later, ask why it was absent from the advertised and written disclosure.

Verify the payment, not just the amount

For every payment:

• confirm the legal name of the recipient;
• verify the apartment address and purpose in writing;
• obtain the refund conditions before sending a holding amount;
• use a traceable payment method;
• save the listing, messages, disclosure, agreement, invoice, lease, and receipt; and
• independently verify payment instructions when they change unexpectedly.

There is no universal NYC rule that every landlord accepts only cashier's checks, personal checks, ACH, or wires. Ask the recipient for the accepted method and verify the instructions through a known contact. An urgent request for cash, crypto, gift cards, or a transfer to an unrelated person is a reason to stop and verify.

If the payment is meant to take the unit off the market before approval, use the NYC good-faith-deposit guide to document refund triggers before paying.

What to do with a questionable charge

Do not solve an unclear demand by sending money first and asking later.

1. Ask the sender to identify the charge, payee, legal basis, and refund terms in writing.
2. Ask whom the broker represents and who hired that broker.
3. Compare the demand with the listing and itemized fee disclosure.
4. Preserve screenshots, messages, invoices, agreements, and receipts.
5. For a suspected FARE Act violation, use NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection's broker-fee complaint process or contact 311.

A charge may depend on facts this general guide cannot resolve, including the property type, agreement, timing, and who directed the payment. This is general information, not legal advice.

Move-in-cost questions NYC renters ask

How much is normally due at signing for an NYC apartment?

Start with first month's rent and the required security deposit, which generally cannot exceed one month's rent. Then add only a separately agreed tenant-broker fee and other lawful, disclosed charges that actually apply. Ask for the exact written total rather than relying on a universal multiple of rent.

Can an NYC landlord charge first month, last month, and security?

For an ordinary residential rental covered by the one-month deposit-or-advance cap, demanding last month's rent in advance on top of a full one-month security deposit would exceed that cap. Because the statute has limited exceptions, verify the housing type and agreement if the landlord claims one applies.

Do NYC renters still pay broker fees after the FARE Act?

A landlord's agent or listing agent cannot charge its broker fee to the tenant. A renter may voluntarily hire a broker and pay the negotiated fee for that broker's services. Renting a particular apartment cannot be conditioned on hiring a broker.

Must fees appear in the apartment listing?

Fees the prospective tenant must pay to rent the apartment must be clearly disclosed in the listing. The landlord or its agent must also provide the applicable itemized written fee disclosure before the lease.

Is the $6,400 example a required NYC amount?

No. It is the arithmetic for $3,200 first-month rent plus a $3,200 deposit. A lower deposit, tenant-hired broker, building charge, or other transaction-specific fact changes the total.

Should I move money before beginning an apartment search?

Know where your funds are and how long a transfer takes, but do not send money merely to satisfy artificial urgency. First obtain the written total, payees, refund terms, and accepted methods. Verify any changed instructions independently.

Your pre-signing checklist

• [ ] Confirm the actual lease rent and start date.
• [ ] Write down first month's rent and any proration.
• [ ] Confirm the security deposit and test it against the one-month cap.
• [ ] Identify who hired and whom each broker represents.
• [ ] Add a tenant-broker fee only if you independently agreed to one.
• [ ] Get the complete itemized fee disclosure before the lease.
• [ ] Identify the payee, purpose, and refund terms for every line.
• [ ] Keep relocation expenses separate from landlord-directed charges.
• [ ] Save the listing, disclosure, agreements, lease, and receipts.

RentReboot can help you find matching apartments across multiple listing sources. It cannot verify a payment demand or decide whether a transaction-specific charge is lawful.

👉 Set up RentReboot alerts, then request the complete move-in total before you apply.

Primary sources

Checked August 4, 2026.

• NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection — FARE Act FAQ (FARE Act effective June 11, 2025; page updated June 2, 2026)
• New York State Senate — General Obligations Law § 7-107 (rent-stabilized security deposits; current law checked August 4, 2026)
• New York State Senate — General Obligations Law § 7-108 (other covered residential deposits and advances; current law checked August 4, 2026)
• New York Attorney General — Residential Tenants' Rights Guide (current guidance checked August 4, 2026)
• New York City Council — Local Law 119 of 2024 / Int. 360-A (enacted December 13, 2024)