[kazinator]

It seems foolish of landlords not to care, though. Whenever there is some surcharge (commission, tax or whatever) you have to see it as the transaction paying it out. Not party A or party B. Both are robbed by the value extraction. A buyer who is made poorer cannot pay as much for what is being sold. A seller who is made poorer needs to ask more to make up for the loss.

If I'm renting out a place, and it turns out that the renter is being charged some exorbitant $2000 fee, that would severely bother me. I would advise the tenant not to pay, and give them the place anyway. The crooked broker could then try to get it from me; at most I'd give them $200, take it or leave it.

Actually, another thing, the current system described creates an opportunity for fraud. What if the landlord and broker are not at arm's length? A landlord could set up a fake brokerage operation and just pocket the fee.

If we frame the new law as not "landlord pays the fee", but "tenant does not see a fee (unless they retain a broker themselves)" then in that light it makes even more sense. If the tenant does not see a fee, then there is no space for such collusion.