Starting Friday, tenants renting apartments in Massachusetts are no longer responsible for paying broker's fees. Under a new law, that responsibility has shifted to the party who hired them. 

"It just makes everything more affordable," said Addison Fletcher, a Northeastern University student who rents an apartment in Mission Hill. "Northeastern's already unnecessarily expensive as it is, and the housing around here is all inflated because of the proximity to campus," he added.

Elizabeth Scholl echoed that sentiment, saying, "I think it's great, but I am kind of disappointed that it happened after we signed our lease for our fall apartment."

"A great help" for renters

Although Tory Bullock paid a broker's fee when he moved into his Mission Hill apartment nine years ago, he told WBZ-TV he sees the value in the change.

"Boston is extremely expensive—we all know that," he said. "Any help we can get to lighten that load is a great help."

According to Apartments.com, the average rent in Boston is $3,536 per month. When renting an apartment, tenants typically have to pay first and last month's rent, a security deposit, and a broker's fee.

"A broker's fee is the compensation for the work that goes into either finding a tenant an apartment or a landlord a tenant," explained Randall Horn, the broker-owner of Entourage Realty in Boston.

After August 1, he said the fee for his services will likely fall on landlords.

"Now they have to pay the party they hired, whereas previously it typically always fell on the tenants," Horn said.

Concerns it could make rent go up

Douglas Quattrochi, executive director of MassLandlords, says landlords shouldn't be surprised by the new law.

Since around 1971, he says, General Law Chapter 186, Section 15B, has stated that landlords can't charge a broker's fee.

"It said we can only charge first, last, security, and locks," he said. But with the lack of education and enforcement, "There have been a lot of people operating non-compliantly, and they probably haven't even realized it."

According to Quattrochi, the new law should simply be seen as "the cost of doing business."

"And while I think it's well intentioned, I'm afraid it could end up being reflected in higher rents so that fee still gets passed on," Horn said.