In a super-expensive rental market, tenant-paid broker fees can add insult to injury. Now officials in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville are pushing to end the unusual practice — and hoping state lawmakers will let them.

Gov. Maura Healey called for the abolition of broker’s fees renters are often forced to pay when signing a lease agreement, as the Boston City Council is set to reintroduce legislation that would shift that responsibility away from tenants.

State lawmakers and local officials want to see a new law stipulating that landlords who hire brokers be responsible for paying their fees.

Renters in Massachusetts are typically required to pay a fee to their landlord’s broker, usually equivalent to a month’s rent, before they can move in. Healey said those should "go away."

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey appeared to open the door on Tuesday to scrapping broker’s fees, which can add thousands of dollars to the cost of renting an apartment in what is already one of the most expensive rental markets in the country.

Conversations about shifting the burden of commissions are being held at the state and local levels, including in Boston.