Latest news with #D-Quincy
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Healey, state reps introduce proposals to ban broker fees: What to know
If you've moved recently, you may know the pain of having to pay a broker fee on top of all your other moving costs. In Massachusetts, a broker fee is typically about a month's rent that renters are required to pay before moving in. For a one-bedroom apartment in Massachusetts at the median rent of $2,500, broker's fees in addition to other move in costs means a renter is expected to pay nearly $10,000 up front. But Gov. Maura Healey and some members of the legislature want to end this practice. Both Healey and state Rep. Tackey Chan, D-Quincy, have filed proposals to end broker fees. A broker fee is a sum of money that brokers charge tenants for their assistance finding an apartment. They are an upfront, one-time payment that can be as high as 15% of the annual rent. In Massachusetts, they are usually about one month's rent. Brokers used to connect tenants to landlords by listing units in publications, answering questions and setting up tours. But in the age of Zillow, in most cases, brokers no longer play as large of a role in the apartment search. Supporters of broker fees say that the fees make sure that brokers are fairly compensated. If the cost is shifted onto the landlords, they say that rents may increase. However, opponents say that the fees add an undue financial burden onto renters, especially if the renters are doing most of the work to find the apartment themselves. In late January, Healey included a proposal in an outside section of her annual budget plan to eliminate renter-paid broker fees. 'Broker fees are an unfair cost for renters, and they should not be on the hook to pay for someone they didn't hire,' said Healey in a statement. 'We're proud to be proposing this change that will save renters thousands of dollars – making it possible for more young people, seniors and families to stay in Massachusetts, help businesses attract the best talent, and put more money back in people's pockets for groceries, health care, and other needs.' Her proposal would require that the fee be paid by whichever party hires the broker, which is usually the landlord. State representative Chan also filed a bill in the legislature that would do the same. It uses the same language as Healey's proposal. 'Any fee shall only be paid by the party, lessor or tenant who originally engaged and entered into a contract with the licensed broker or salesperson,' reads Bill H.335 and the governor's proposal. Healey's proposal would have to be approved by the state legislature to go though, as would the bill. If Massachusetts bans broker fees, they would be following the example of places like New York City. New York passed a law last December to make landlords responsible for broker fees. It's set to take effect in June. Many other major U.S. cities don't have tenant paid broker fees. This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Will Massachusetts ban broker fees this year? What to know
CBS News
02-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Why Massachusetts House Speaker opposes Diana DiZoglio's attempt to audit legislature
Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy) said he is "worried" about the situation in Washington, D.C. and the effects it could have on Massachusetts if federal funding is cut. He also defended local lawmakers' resistance to State Auditor Diana DiZoglio's efforts to audit the legislature. How losing federal funding could impact Massachusetts Mariano has been around the track a few times in his long career as a teacher, school committeeman and legislator. He's hard to startle. But as he surveys the scene in Washington and its potential impact on Massachusetts, "I am worried," he said during an interview with WBZ-TV. "It's hard to have any idea how this thing is going to play out. I just know that we rely on our federal partner for about $15 billion coming into the state over the course of the year in a myriad of programs. So if that's cut significantly, then we are in a difficult position," he said. Ron Mariano on audit opposition But there's another challenge being confronted these days by Mariano and his fellow legislators. DiZoglio is scorching for their resistance to her proposed audit of the legislature, a right she was granted by the voters when they overwhelmingly approved Question One on the November 2024 ballot. In a tweet last week after the House rejected a Republican effort to accept DiZoglio's audit plan, the auditor accused Mariano and his "henchman" Majority Leader Mike Moran of working to "continue to hide whatever it is they do with your taxpayer dollars." "It's very inflammatory, and it's kind of a nonsensical response to the activities that happen in the legislative debate," Mariano said. "We have an honest disagreement, an honest difference of opinion. We think there are constitutional issues involved in the separation of powers and what she wants to do and what that valid question allows her to do. And that's the way she deals with disagreements, I guess, is…tweet." Meanwhile, the House last week approved new rules that Mariano cast as partly a response to the public frustration with the slow pace of legislative activity that was reflected in the Question One vote. In an effort to end the bi-annual logjams where important bills don't get passed by the session's end, "we've set a rolling deadline for the committees," said Mariano. "They get 60 days to hear a bill and move it. We want it out in the membership. We want, the chairman to take a more active part in determining what's going to be in the agenda, and we're hoping that this …will force us to deal with these issues before they stack up and we have to combine them," Mariano said. "We hope it will make us more efficient. We've opened up the process. We're going to include our votes. We're going to include our attendance. We want people to know who's at the hearing, how they're voting. We want to open that up, and we want to process these bills before we feel the crunch of the time coming to an end." Mariano also discussed recent concerns about potential conflicts of interest in House committee leadership during the interview, which can be viewed in its entirety here.
