Is it worth using a broker to rent an apartment in Boston?

What a broker costs you now

Until August 2025, Massachusetts landlords could require tenants to pay the landlord’s broker. The state budget signed on July 4, 2025 ended that: from August 1, 2025, a broker’s fee on a rental is paid by whoever hired the broker, a change the state says saves tenants thousands of dollars in upfront costs.

A broker you hire must work only for you in dealing with landlords, and before a lease is signed must give you a written disclosure of who hired them, who pays and how much.

Official sources

• M.G.L. c.112 §87DDD½, as amended by St. 2025, c. 9, §43 (effective August 1, 2025)
• EOHLC (Mass.gov) — Frequently asked questions about residential rental broker’s fees
• Mass.gov — Apartment finder’s fees, broker’s fees and signing a lease

When a broker is worth it

• You’re moving from out of town. A broker can show you apartments on a live video call and check what the photos don’t show.
• You’re short on time. Boston leases cluster around September 1, and good apartments go quickly. A broker who knows what’s coming up saves days of calls.
• You want a small building. Triple-deckers and other small buildings rarely have a leasing office, so their landlords often list through a broker.
• Your application needs help. No US credit, a co-signer, a guarantor or a housing voucher: a broker who has done it before knows what landlords will ask for and how to present it.

When to search on your own

• You want a large building with its own leasing office: you can apply directly.
• You live nearby and can see apartments during the week.
• You’d have to hire and pay your own broker, and the fee would strain your move-in budget. Remember that before move-in a landlord can already ask for first month, last month and a security deposit.

Searching alone? Watch for scams Boston’s consumer office says to see the apartment before you rent, confirm the owner in the City’s assessing database, and never pay by wire transfer.

Official sources

• City of Boston — Apartment scams
• M.G.L. c.186 §15B — security deposits and what a landlord may collect

What apartments rent for

Across Massachusetts our site listed 9,717 rentals in 276 towns that day. Asking rents are what landlords advertise, not signed leases.

• Search rentals
• No-fee apartments
• Neighborhood guides

Renting with Benjamin Realty

Ask for a tour from any of the 9,717 rentals on our site and our team arranges it. When the landlord hired us, including at the no-fee Chestnut Hill Realty communities, you pay us nothing, and on any apartment we tell you in writing who hired us, who pays us and how much before you sign a lease.

• Our rental agency in Boston
• Rental agency help by town
• How to choose a rental agency
• Contact us

Questions people ask

Do I have to pay a broker fee to rent in Boston?

Not to a broker the landlord hired. Since August 1, 2025, whoever hires the broker pays; you pay only a broker you hire yourself under a written agreement.

Is it cheaper to rent without a broker in Boston?

For the same apartment, no. The landlord’s broker costs you nothing, so going without a broker saves money only compared with hiring your own.

How much is a broker fee in Boston if I hire my own broker?

There’s no set amount in Massachusetts. It’s a contract between you and a licensed broker, and the amount, due date and purpose must be told to you before any transaction.

Can a landlord make me use their broker?

Yes, as long as the landlord pays that broker. A landlord can’t make paying the broker a condition of renting.