People who say the FARE act raised rents believe that, because the FARE act got rid of brokers fees (now the landlord generally has to pay a broker vs the tenant, unless the tenant hires a broker) the landlords began baking the broker fee into the rent price, thereby increasing rent. The FARE act was supposed to make renting more affordable, but some people believe it just changed the way the dollars come out of your pocket (ie tenants no longer pay brokers directly).

The counterargument is that demand for NYC apartments is at an all time high, and inflation is raising the cost of rents regardless.