Best Sites to Find a No Fee NYC Apartment in 2023
February 28, 2023 | 13 minute read | the RENT BETTA team
In New York City, you expect the best of everything.
But when it comes to finding an apartment, this isn't exactly the case. Most renters endure a maze of bait-and-switch listings, broker fees demanding 1-2 months of rent, and aggressive sales tactics.
As a renter, you want to save money. Isn't there an easier way to find a no fee apartment in 2023?
RENTBETTA.com offers no fee NYC apartments directly from property managers across NYC. You can book a tour and apply for any apartment on the site and will be connected directly to the leasing office, not a broker. Craigslist occasionally has great deals directly from landlords, but also has a lot of scams. Joining a flat-share is another good way to avoid broker fees, and we like Spareroom, Facebook Marketplace and the housing groups NYC Rooms and Gypsy Housing the best. Streeteasy has a no fee option but most of their listings are from brokers, meaning many are fake, outdated, or have hidden broker fees.
Why pay a broker fee? Save thousands of dollars with these websites offering no fee apartments directly from the building owner.
The Truth About No Fee Apartments in New York City
No fee apartments in New York City come in two varieties: "truly no fee" apartments available from the building without a broker, and "kind of no fee" apartments you rent through a broker who does not charge you a fee but is still getting paid in the transaction.
The added expense of a broker comes out of your pocket one way or another, so what you want to find are "truly no fee" apartments, and these are what is available on RENTBETTA.com.
RENT BETTA connects you with building owners in NYC that let you rent directly from the leasing office.
Because there's no broker involved, there's no additional layer of costs in the transaction, so you get the same or better deal than if you found the same apartment with a broker.
"Kind of no fee" apartments don't require you to pay a broker fee, but you're likely being charged higher rent.
These are what you find on Streeteasy or Craigslist when you click "no fee", but the apartments are posted by a broker. You're either going to see a fake listing (known as a "bait-and-switch"), or an apartment with a hidden broker fee.
Hidden fee #1: the lost concession
When the rental market is weak and it's hard to find tenants, landlords offer concessions like a month or two of free rent.
You pay the gross monthly rent every month, except for the one or two months you get free where you don't have to cut a check to the landlord.
Brokers take these listings from building owners and post them on Streeteasy and Craigslist as "no fee" apartments.
What they don't tell you is they're taking a free month of rent concession away from you as their fee.
At closing, the landlord will actually cut a check to the broker worth one month of the gross rent, and your lease will have one less month of free rent.
Yes, this really happens, and it's actually common practice.
Find the same apartment on RENTBETTA.com and keep any free months of rent the landlord is offering to direct tenants. You'll get the best deal possible, as we connect renters directly with property managers, and never take rent concessions.
Hidden fee #2: OP's make landlords less willing to negotiate
Other times, landlords may list an apartment with an "OP", which stands for "Owner Pays" (the broker fee).
These are also more common when the rental market is weak. When you rent an apartment with an "OP", you don't have to pay the broker fee. At closing, the landlord cuts a check to the broker, typically worth one month of rent (we've witnessed this happening).
Now imagine you’re the landlord, and two prospective renters come to see your apartment.
One came through a broker, so you’ll have to pay the broker a 1 month OP if that tenant rents the apartment.
The other came through RENTBETTA.com, and you won’t have to pay a 1 month OP.
Both renters ask for a slight discount on the rent.
Which one are you more like to negotiate with?
Obviously, the renter who find the apartment on RENTBETTA.com is more likely to get a discount, as you won't need to pay a 1 month OP if they rent your apartment.
So even if the landlord is the one cutting the check, you're still leaving money on the table if you work with a broker.
Find an apartment on RENTBETTA.com to truly cut out the broker fee.
#1 RENTBETTA.com
Good for: finding a no fee NYC apartment, avoiding fake broker listings
RENTBETTA.com provides no fee apartments you can rent directly from building owners, saving you thousands of dollars in broker fees.
The site only works with people who actually own the apartments - landlords and property managers - not broker middlemen.
Reasons to find an apartment on RENTBETTA.com:
No broker fees
No fake, bait-and-switch listings from brokers
No aggressive sales tactics - you rent directly from a leasing office, and don't have to put up with push brokers
In addition to saving thousands of dollars in broker fees, you'll also save hours in your search by not wasting time on fake listings.
Brokers post fake listings online to generate leads (your name and number) but the apartments you see may not actually exist. They're only used as a lure.
Ever comb though scores of attractive, no fee apartments on Streeteasy, then reach out only to hear back the apartment isn't available? The response is often "that just rented, but I've got these other places..."
That's the bait-and-switch.
The broker is putting up a fake listing with attractive photos, priced below market, and often tagged as "no fee."
The only thing is, it doesn't exist. You can't rent that apartment.
But the listing looks great, and with the nice photos and low price, they get a ton of people saying they'd like to see it, all sending the broker their names and emails.
The broker uses these "leads", active apartment seekers looking to rent a place soon, and tries to take them on a tour of other, less attractive apartments.
If this all feels like a scam, it's because well, it kind of is.
And it's ubiquitous in the NYC rental market.
In fact, most of the attractive apartment listings you find online are probably fake. You can always find a "good deal" on Craigslist and Streeteasy, but what you're probably running into is a fake listing.
Sreeteasy and Craigslist get paid for each listing, so they're kind of in on the scam, too. The more listings they have up on their site, the higher their revenue.
Basically, NYC's brokers and Streeteasy are in cahoots, scamming renters.
And it all means countless wasted hours in your apartment search, sifting through fake apartment listings, getting your hopes up and then being countlessly let down.
On RENTBETTA.com, there aren't any fake broker listings.
The site only has listings from building owners. These are real companies, with real reputations, who typically own a lot of buildings.
If they put a fake listing on their site, a lot of people will flood their office to rent an apartment they can't actually offer, wasting the office's time.
To a broker, this sounds like a business opportunity, but to a real building owner, this just ties up their leasing office from doing their normal job, like processing applications.
Sometimes, building owners may not update a listing or an apartment may have rented within the last 24 hours (listings are updated daily), so once in a while you can find an apartment which is no longer available, but it's not common.
Building owners are a lot more reputable than brokers.
So you'll save time, in addition to thousands of dollars in broker fees, on RENT BETTA.
#2 Craigslist
Good for: finding a no fee apartment in-between scams and fake listings
Since it charges only $5 to post and doesn’t verify anything, Craigslist is a free-for-all.
But its low cost means landlords sometimes post direct listings there, and good deals can be found if you're willing to invest time and effort.
Remember, what you're most after are "no fee" apartments that come directly from building owners, and want to skip over anything that looks posted by a broker, as it may be fake or have a hidden fee.
Go to newyork.craigslist.org and check the "no broker fee" box on the left. This will give you both types of "no fee" listings, the "truly no fee" and "kind of" no fee.
Brokers often add watermarks to their photos or include broker contact details in the description, so skip over anything with these give-aways.
You’re looking for a direct apartment posted by the building owner, either the landlord or property manager, not a broker.
Be prepared to do a lot of sifting, but you can find a good deal this way.
We’ve found legitimate rent stabilized apartments on Craigslist (though out of the thousands of listings we’ve gone through, there have only been a few, so the ratio is pretty low).
Craigslist is a good hunting ground for savvy, street smart New Yorkers willing to put a lot of time into their apartment search to find a good deal.
#3 Spareroom
Good for: finding a (no fee) sublet
If you’re up for roommates, another great way to avoid a broker fee is by joining a sublet, also known as a flat share.
Since you’re moving into an existing group of tenants and not working with a broker, there’s no fee to pay, so it’s a great way around the common 1-2 months requirement.
Spareroom is the best sublet option we’ve found in New York City, and we’ve had decent luck with it in the past.
While we think Spareroom (and Facebook) have the most real sublet listings, there's also Diggz, Roomiapp, and RoomZoom.
#4 Facebook (Marketplace and Housing Groups)
Good for: Spareroom alternative to finding a sublet without a broker fee
Facebook has apartment listings on its Marketplace and also in individual housing groups.
It’s free to post on Facebook, which means you’re going to see a lot of nonsense.
What you’re looking for is a sublet posted by the current tenants who already live there.
Avoid listings that look like they're posted by brokers (or any middlemen) to avoid a broker fee or fake listing.
Landlords rarely post on Facebook, so don’t expect to find direct listings of empty apartments there, only shares.
In addition to Marketplace, you can also try individual housing groups.
The best housing groups in NYC are NYC Rooms and Gypsy Housing, though there are many different housing groups.
Drop a line to the current roommates and set up a time to see the apartment.
When you're there, be friendly! And see if the other roommates interact as friends, too, not just co-tenants.
After all, a good dynamic is the most important part of any flat share.
#5 Streeteasy
Good for: learning about the rental market with a broker, then finding a no fee apartment on your own
While Streeteasy has a “no fee” option, most of their listings are from brokers. After all, Streeteasy is the most expensive apartment website in the NYC to post listings on, so brokers are eager to recoup the money they spend on the platform from you, the renter.
This means you won't see many direct deals from landlords there, as they can list on RENTBETTA.com or Craigslist more cheaply.
So expect to see a lot of fake broker listings, and few truly "no fee" apartments.
Have some time to kill?
Then indulge a broker or two, and go on one of their tours to see what’s available.
Once you’ve gotten a feel for the market and how the process works, start looking for a no fee apartment elsewhere (we recommend RENTBETTA.com or Craigslist).
Other Apartment Search Websites (We’re not Crazy About)
New York City has a lot of apartment search websites, but most are useless.
Many get large data feeds from brokers and just regurgitate fake or outdated listings.
As the brokers are the ones paying to post listings, these sites tend to do as brokers demand.
They don't actually provide you with a product you want - an easy to use website that shows you real, live apartments without a broker fee.
Instead, you're going to see a lot of fake listings and broker contact forms.
With that background into how these sites often go wrong, here are other apartment search websites in New York City you may come across:
What we're not crazy about:
We spot checked 10-12 listings, and most were posted by brokers. Only a small portion appear to be from current tenants.
What we're not crazy about:
Many listings appear to be either from brokers or out of date
We checked out a handful of apartment listings in the East Village, and all were posted by brokers. We dug a little deeper and found out who actually owned those buildings and when they put those apartments up for rent on other sites. All the apartments had actually rented weeks earlier. The listings were stale.
What we're not crazy about:
All the listings we found were posted by brokers, so we expect many to be outdated, fake, or include the extra cost and difficulty of working with an apartment broker.
What we're not crazy about:
Probably the best on this list, though many listings appear to be dated or otherwise not actionable. We spot-checked 7-8 listings, found out who actually owned the buildings and if they listed those apartments on other web sites. Most of the listings had already rented.
What we're not crazy about:
Most listings we found were posted by brokers, so we expect the broker bait-and-switch to be common.
Look for listings tagged “By Owner” for a direct deal that’s more likely to be available and not include a broker fee.
What we're not crazy about:
It’s hard to see which apartments in a building are available, and if the photos they show correspond to those apartments or are just generic building photos.
Brokerage Websites (You Should Avoid)
Be careful! This is where you feed yourself straight to the sharks.
Each of the major apartment brokerages in New York City have their own websites with listings.
But apartment listings posted on brokerage sites are...from brokers.
While this may not come as a surprise, it means their apartment listings will come with the difficulties you commonly get with brokers: fake, outdated, or inaccurate listings, aggressive sales tactics, and, of course, broker fees.
We include this list of major brokerage companies for completeness, but remember, we advise you to look for live apartment listings available directly from landlords or property managers, and avoid listings from brokers.
After all, brokers just add another layer of expense to your apartment search, so you are less likely to get a good deal if you work through them.
But if you have the money to spare and want the high-touch approach, here are the major New York City apartment brokerage websites to check out:
National Websites (Less Relevant)
The national websites are all big brands you’ve probably heard of before.
The only problem is, the New York City rental market is unique, and few landlords here put their listings on websites like Apartments.com or Zumper.
So if you go on these sites, you're not likely to see many real listings. You're more likely to run into scams.
These sites can work great in other parts of the country, it's just in NYC, they don't really apply.
Conclusion
If you're looking for a New York City apartment, avoid a broker fee with a no fee listing available directly from the landlord or property manager. These are the types of listings available on RENTBETTA.com, and occasionally, Craigslist. Joining a flat share is also a good way to avoid a broker fee, and Spareroom and Facebook (either Marketplace or housing groups) are the most popular. There are a lot of apartment search websites in New York City, but many are filled with feeds from apartment brokers with outdated, useless listings. Also, large national websites typically have limited inventory of the NYC rental market, so don't expect much from them, either.