City Council Testimony
The what and the why of my FARE Act support, in case you missed it
Yesterday, after several near-panic-attacks and a week of very little sleep, I testified in favor of the FARE Act — a bill that requires landlords to pay their own agents — in front of (part of) City Council, hundreds (or thousands) of real estate agents and tenants waiting to testify, and the general public watching online. Also many, many reporters.
I didn’t know what to expect, but thankfully ran into other people (including Allia Mohamed, CEO of Open Igloo and my online friend) who were on my panel and sat with me while we watched the opening remarks. The only “agent side” people I knew and said hi to were sweet and friendly to me, as always, and I love them for that. I didn’t love the loud “boo’s” or the scoffing when CM Osse claimed that brokers were involved in the bill (they were, and I have publicly said that for a VERY LONG TIME). And I’m not alone! I wasn’t even the only broker on my panel, and the third broker there to testify FOR the FARE Act. Hubris, they name is real estate. Seriously, though, it looked really, really bad. Ugh. Why are we our own worst enemy?
After seeing a very sweet but deeply unprepared (seemingly an intentional move by Adams) representative from HPD be absolutely eviscerated by counselors and told to come back by 5pm with the “rudimentary” data requested, panels began. I was on the fourth panel, after 2 anti-FARE groups and 1 pro-FARE group. We each gave two minutes of testimony before fielding additional questions.
I’m incredibly grateful to the other brokers who stood with me yesterday or submitted written testimony (which you can still do here). Public speaking does not make me nervous, but being a lone voice speaking out against the “official narrative” does.
I am also grateful to the agents testifying on the other side or sitting in the room for respecting my voice and not boo-ing me, even if they hated my position.
I feel bad for agents who didn’t realize until my testimony that REBNY is not, in fact, solely representing residential agents. It’s public information, but we live in a bubble.
I’m worried that some agents don’t understand what the bill says, and think it includes a cap on commissions or bans fees outright.
I understand being upset that the public says we “only open doors” — I hate it too — but wouldn’t removing the system that built that reputation for us be better? Isn’t an environment where we are treated as a professional service rather than an impediment a superior one for us?
I don’t think the agents speaking up against this bill are jerks (well, some probably are, but there are jerks everywhere). I think there are individuals misleading the public about their reasons, but I also think there are hundreds of agents who earnestly believe this bill will be terrible, run them out of business, and raise rents (which you’d think they want, since our commissions are based off of rent…). Of course they think that; it’s been beaten into their heads for years without any alternative perspectives offered.
I also want to point out that a ton of agents do not care about this at all. It doesn’t affect the many thousands of agents who work exclusively in sales (especially luxury sales). It’s also just a change, like the bajillion changes we deal with constantly. The ones who do care tend to care a lot, which is why you see such charged debate. I didn’t go to the rally, but was told that some agents there to protest the bill said privately that they actually didn’t feel strongly; they were just showing up to support our industry, as they were told to do.
I care way too much, for a few reasons. But I also know I’ve seen things that most agents don’t experience. By definition, we mostly come into contact with people who have enough money to move, whether buying or renting. As an agent, you’re unlikely to be contacted by someone severely rent burdened with no savings in the bank, because why would they contact us? But my social media presence means that they do contact me. And my background in tenant advocacy, along with what I saw during my decade in Harlem, is why I will always believe labor unions and tenant advocacy groups, because I’ve seen what they reference firsthand. Also, when people with PHD’s who study housing professionally say that this bill is economically good for NYC, I’m gonna listen. Paraphrasing one exchange from yesterday, “you’ve been a broker for 20 years. I’ve studied NYC’s housing crisis for 20 years.” In my opinion, we need all kinds of expertise. Yelling past each other is a waste of time.
And I definitely agree with the agents who say we need to create more housing. Absolutely. 100%. It’s a yes, and situation, not an either, or. To paraphrase another moment, “if there are 7 things we need to fix in housing, blocking each one because it doesn’t solve the other 6 is not a winning strategy.”
Here’s a transcript of my testimony:
Good Morning,
My name is Anna Klenkar, and I’m a broker who supports the FARE Act.
In 2019*, when this briefly became law, I was primarily a rental agent, earning about $40,000/year, and I welcomed the change.
Not only is it a fairer system, which exists almost everywhere else, but it meant I would never again work with a tenant for weeks, only to give up my commission when a listing agent wanted the full 15% fee — a fee paid by someone who’d actually hired me, not them.
Since then, I have publicly supported this type of legislation. I’m not alone, but the official industry stance has been to block these bills in order to protect our income.
That’s how REBNY gathered agents here to protest today, by claiming this is necessary to quote “protect our commissions.” But REBNY has also proposed, as an alternative to the FARE Act, helping tenants negotiate down the commissions they pay us. It feels less like we’re protecting ourselves, and more like we are protecting landlords, whom REBNY also represents. Notably they do not represent tenants, which makes me question some of their other claims about the bill’s impact.
The FARE Act does not cap agent commissions. If our incomes drop because landlords pay us less than they expected tenants to pay, it just shows the current system is built on exploitation.
At the end of the day it isn’t about us; it’s about removing financial hurdles that keep tenants trapped in unsafe situations, which can be as serious as life or death.
But while you don’t need real estate’s permission to pass this bill, rest assured that agents — as well as attorneys and other industry professionals — are involved, even if it was too risky or intimidating to be here today. It is incredibly popular, and the longer we fight it, the more we erode agents’ reputation and public trust.
There are always unintended consequences, to any change, but not all of those consequences are bad. I believe this bill will help much more than it hurts, and if City Council members have additional questions or concerns, I’m happy to speak further. Thank you for your time.
*It was actually February of 2020 based off of the 2019 laws
I also did this, in part, for one of my best friends who died last year when a window ledge broke off his building’s facade. He was so proud of my work on this bill and it was part of our last conversation. (I’m not going to elaborate further for legal reasons.)
I supported this legislation long before his death, but it was impossible not to connect the two in my brain, especially when they happened at the same time. Imagine attending the funeral of your friend, who died in that way, the same day that the FARE Act was revealed. Your industry is screaming that Intro 360 is the worst thing that could ever happen, that no one could ever possibly benefit from this change, that no, actually, the current system is perfect. Anyone who wants to move can make it happen, or they just aren’t trying hard enough. The real victim here is real estate. Although you actually helped make the bill better for agents, by removing any cap on commissions, you’re treated like a pariah for daring to support it. No one will acknowledge your responses to the official talking points or have a real conversation, preferring to parrot the same things over and over, treating them like gospel. Oh, and you have to pay hundreds of dollars in dues to the organization promoting these talking points and pretending you don’t exist. Can you even imagine what that would do to a person? Because yeah, I can. What a year. I’m so, so glad it’s over.
There has never been any question that I would see this through, no matter how draining or terrifying. So again, to anyone mad at me for testifying, leave me tf alone about it. And to everyone who understands that we are all allowed to have our own opinions (and have lots of reasons for doing so), thank you. So many agents, including some who testified on the other side yesterday, are incredibly, generous, wonderful people. We don’t all see eye to eye, but I don’t see eye to eye with a lot of my clients either — it isn’t actually necessary — and the more POV’s we have, the better. Let’s get this passed and move on to fixing other problems in NYC housing, which we all agree exist.
xo
Anna