N.Y. RPP Law § 446-A

§ 446-a. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context\notherwise requires: 1. "Person" means any natural person, corporation,\nlimited liability company, partnership, firm, or association.\n 2. "Apartment information vendor" means any person who engages in the\nbusiness of claiming, demanding, charging, receiving, collecting, or\ncontracting for the collection of, a fee from a customer for furnishing\ninformation concerning the location and availability of real property,\nincluding apartment housing, which may be leased, rented, shared or\nsublet as a private dwelling, abode, or place of residence. The\ndefinition of apartment information vendor shall include an apartment\nsharing agent which means any person who, for a fee, arranges, conducts,\ncoordinates, handles or causes meetings between a customer and the\ncurrent owner or occupant of legally occupied real property, including\napartment housing, who wishes to share that housing with one or more\nindividuals as a private dwelling, abode or place of residence, but it\nshall not apply to any person who for another and for a fee, commission\nor other valuable consideration, supervises, organizes, arranges,\ncoordinates, handles or is otherwise in charge of or responsible for the\nrelocation of commercial or residential tenants from buildings or\nstructures that are to be demolished, rehabilitated, remodeled or\notherwise structurally altered.\n 3. "Advance fee" means any fee claimed, demanded, charged, received or\ncollected from a customer before the customer has leased or rented a\nprivate dwelling, abode or place of residence through the information\nprovided by an apartment information vendor.\n