NORTHAMPTON — The city may soon again ask the state Legislature for permission to prohibit landlords and real estate brokers from charging prospective tenants a broker’s fee to move into a residential unit.

Under a proposed special order, sponsored by Northampton City Council President Alex Jarrett, Vice President Rachel Maiore and Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, requiring renters to pay a broker’s fee would be considered “an unfair or deceptive act or practice in the conduct of a trade or commerce.”

The council originally approved the order in 2022, which was then introduced in the Legislature that year. It must be approved again and reintroduced for the Legislature to consider it in a new session.

The idea also has gained traction in the state capitol, with Gov. Maura Healey floating her own plan to eliminate the practice in January as part of her fiscal year 2026 budget.

Meanwhile, the Senate last year embraced a policy requiring the fees to be paid by whichever party entered into a contract with the broker, but House negotiators did not agree to the measure in the final housing bill. Senate President Karen Spilka said in January that the idea is a priority this session.

During the council’s April 3 meeting, Jarrett said that the order is based on a report published jointly by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and the Northampton Housing Partnership in 2019 that looked at barriers to fair housing in the city.

“In that report, it talked about how two-thirds of landlords use a broker that charges 60% or more of a commission. So not only do you have to pay first, last, security, then you also pay the 60%,” Jarrett told the council. “Because you have to come up with that additional money immediately, that constitutes another barrier, especially for those who are on Section 8 or other vouchers or on disability, because the vouchers won’t pay for those fees.”

Many renters have to pay the first and last months of the lease term, one month’s rent as a security deposit and a fee to the broker who coordinated the transaction. In Northampton, where apartments.com says the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,500 a month, the up-front costs could come in at around $5,400.

Violators of the rule, if adopted, would be subject to a $1,000 fine.

Jarrett acknowledged that a potential drawback of eliminating broker’s fees would be that landlords may raise rents to make up the cost, but said that renters would ultimately still benefit from such a law.

“Even if that happens, the barrier to entry is reduced in that [the cost] is spread out over a period of time,” Jarrett said.

In addition, the order would not prevent renters themselves from hiring a broker to assist in finding housing, only preventing landlords from requiring broker fee payments in a listing.

The order comes as movements to ban the requirement of broker’s fees picks up momentum statewide. Legislation also has been introduced in the State House by Reps. Tackey Chan, D-Quincy, and Erika Uyterhoeven, D-Somerville, that would ban landlords from requiring tenants to pay broker’s fees.

Meanwhile, Healey’s proposal would require that brokers only be paid by the party that first contracted with them, meaning landlords could not pass the cost on to tenants.

“Broker fees are an unfair cost for renters, and they should not be on the hook to pay for someone they didn’t hire,” said Healey in a statement issued in January regarding the budget section. “We’re proud to be proposing this change that will save renters thousands of dollars — making it possible for more young people, seniors and families to stay in Massachusetts, help businesses attract the best talent, and put more money back in people’s pockets for groceries, health care, and other needs.”

Jarrett said that now is a good time to make this request of the Legislature given the movements at the state level.

“This is, I think, a very timely measure to re-up and say actually, what we want is this requirement,” Jarrett said.

At-large Councilor Garrick Perry, himself a renter, also voiced approval for the proposal. “As a working-class person who rents his living space, I’m so for this,” Perry said. “I don’t have words for it.”

The council will vote to approve the order during its next meeting, scheduled for April 17. If approved, it would be sent to the Legislature, which would then need to vote to allow the city to enact such an order.

The council also voted on several other special orders and proposed charter amendments to be sent to the legislature for approval. Those measures include lowering the voting age to 16, allowing non-citizen residents to vote, and introducing ranked-choice voting. Those orders have been sent to the Legislature in previous years, although have yet to be approved for implementation. The council voted to suspend the rules in order to vote on those orders immediately.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.