Brokers are facing additional pressure this year from the City Council, which is considering a bill that would limit brokers’ fees to one month’s rent. That could lower upfront costs for tenants, but the real estate industry has argued it could curb a broker’s earnings and increase housing costs for tenants in the long run.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” Mr. Dagan said.

“ It’s not a glamorous job. It’s a grind,” he added about real estate agents. “It would cap middle-class workers’ pay and this is a progressive city.”

The cap on application fees applies statewide, and enforcement issues have reverberated far beyond the five boroughs.

Susan Segal recently helped her son, a student at Syracuse University, apply for an off-campus apartment, for which the management company charged $300 in application fees. She emailed the company to ask for a refund after she learned of the new laws, but has yet to hear back.

“I would be willing to bet that apartment owners in areas with high student populations might be particularly prone to ignoring the law, given that college students may not know or have the wherewithal to protest illegal practices,” Ms. Segal said.

The memo from the state included additional guidance: Though there is a $20 limit on application fees for real estate agents hired by landlords, a real estate agent hired by a renter to find an apartment is allowed to charge more. Also, brokers who violate the law may be disciplined by the Department of State, which regulates and licenses real estate brokers and agents.

But the memo left unanswered many other questions about the impact of the new rent laws, which were propelled by recently elected Democrats in the state Legislature to address skyrocketing housing costs.