RDNY has bad professional ethics. They seduce people into paying for their services by flooding them with apartment listings to make it seem like they have a lot of offerings. Once you sign up and pay there is a dramatic drop in listings. They don't screen brokers and landlords sufficiently and there is poor communication between them and landlords. For example, one of the first apartment owners that I called denied that he even knew what RDNY was and said that he sells his own properties.He forwarded me to his web site. So, it seemed to me that at least that one apartment was listed without permission by landlord. Furthermore, he said the apartment in question was a full $100.00 more than the RDNY listing.

Some of the brokers listed are really shady and engage in bait and switch. They tell you that an apartment is available, collect all of your personal information on an application, collect your deposit----all to appear legit. However, at the same time they have already received an application on the apartment, or, it was never available. They call you back and tell you what a good applicant you are but that someone else got their app in before you. This is true even when they tell you that there are no other applicants on no one has made a deposit. Once they think that you are really interested in the apartment they offer you a slightly upscale apartment that costs more money but also that the apartment that you want is still available. They keep you on hold for a few hours telling you that they are waiting for owner approval. Then they call you and tell you that the owner has another application that came in right before yours from another broker. In my situation, according to the super of the building, there was no other broker. So, I was scammed by the broker listed on RDNY. I cancelled my check and complained to RDNY who called the broker and was given a bunch of lies about me. When I wrote RDNY back with proof/evidence for my side of the story they were uninterested and took no responsibility for the broker. They covered themselves by insisting that after talking with the broker they were sure that he was a legitimate agent. How would they be able to tell from talking to someone? That is not a lie detector test. I have a professional background that requires high business ethics and I know that the denial of the professional re the consumer's complaint is never proof that he is ethical. He has to prove himself with some form of evidence.

RDNY takes no responsibility for bad listings and whenever you complain about a landlord or broker they come up with an excuse. For example, in the above instance when I complained that the landlord denied knowing RDNY they explained it away saying we used to be called Rent Direct and maybe he didn't know... This would work for the born yesterday consumer.

Aside from significant ethical problems, RDNY itself has some shady practices. Once you sign up the level of activity re apartment listings drops dramatically. Sometimes they send you a lot of listings on one day but they are repetitive so it looks like you are getting flooded with possibilities but they have already sent the same apartment several times.

Yes, on Craig's list you will run into a lot of scams but with careful scrutiny you may do better. Also, don't forget the good old fashioned pave the pavement. There are a lot of apartment buildings in NYC. Find them and go to the rental offices and find yourself an apartment.