Who owes the broker fee

A broker is not entitled to a fee unless the client signed a written order containing the regulation-required details (names, IDs, the property, the transaction type, the fee). No signed written order means no broker fee.

A landlord who used a broker to find a tenant may not require the tenant to pay that broker's fee in the landlord's place. This duty cannot be contracted around to the tenant's detriment.

If the tenant independently signed their own written order with the broker, the tenant owes the fee they personally committed to — but still not the landlord's obligation.