Prospect Seeks Return of $500 Broker Fee for Unrented Apartment

Prospective tenant sued landlord's real estate broker in small claims court, seeking return of $500 that she paid to the broker in connection with her potential rental of an apartment. Tenant claimed that she never rented the apartment that the broker showed her, and therefore any deposit should be returned. The trial court dismissed the case, finding that the broker had earned a commission and that tenant's payment constituted a partial payment of that commission.

Tenant appealed, and the case was reopened. If a proposed lease is never executed and the tenant's application is, at most, an offer to lease, a deposit paid in anticipation of the lease agreement generally remains the property of the person who made the deposit. So, if tenant's $500 payment was payment toward the rent or security deposit on the apartment she didn't rent, she was entitled to a refund. But it was unclear whether tenant's "deposit" actually was toward the broker's commission. So a new trial was needed to determine the facts.

Rodriguez v. Curtis Chance Realty: Index No. 2018-2515 KC, 2020 NY Slip Op 50500(U)(App. T. 2 Dept.; 5/1/20; Aliotta, PJ, Elliot, Toussaint, JJ)