Tenant Not Entitled to Refund of Brokerage Fee

Tenant sued landlord's real estate broker in small claims court, seeking to recover the broker's $2,200 fee, paid before she rented an apartment in landlord's building. The trial court ruled against tenant, who appealed and lost.

Tenant claimed that before she moved in, she was unaware that a child lived in the apartment above hers or that there was a tenant living in the apartment below hers. Tenant thought she had the exclusive use of the building's side yard and that she had a lease, rather than being a month-to-month tenant. The broker testified that landlord had painted the apartment and redone the floors at tenant's request, that 90 percent of apartments rented in that neighborhood were rented on a month-to-month basis, and that tenant didn't request a lease. The broker also testified that tenant was introduced to the child living upstairs before she moved into the building and also knew there was a tenant in the basement unit before she moved in.

The appeals court accepted the trial court's ruling, which found the broker more credible than tenant. Substantial justice was provided in the trial court's dismissal of the case. 

McCann v. Howard Beach Realty, Inc.: 69 Misc.3d 133(A), 2020 NY Slip Op 51227(U)(App. T. 2 Dept.; 10/16/20; Aliotta, PJ; Siegal, Toussaint, JJ)