NYC Is First US City to Adopt Click-to-Cancel Rule, Targeting Gym Memberships

New rules cracking down on junk fees and shady subscription practices put in place by the Mamdani Administration will affect fitness facilities operating in New York City

New York City will be the first in the U.S. to implement new rules that protect consumers from deceptive business practices: a ban on “junk fees” and a mandate to offer “click-to-cancel” subscriptions.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced today — from a gym floor in NYC — the new consumer protection rules, meant to enable New Yorkers to know upfront the actual price of what they are buying and to stop paying for services or subscriptions they no longer want, or weren’t aware of.

“For years, companies have built their business model around making it harder for working people to hold onto their money,” said Mamdani. “Whether it’s hidden fees that suddenly appear at checkout or subscriptions that take one click to sign up for and a dozen steps to cancel, the result is the same: working people pay more while corporations profit. That ends now. If you can sign up with one click, you can cancel with one click.” 

The crackdown is another initiative in Mamdani’s affordability agenda, following Executive Orders 9 and 10 targeting junk fees and subscription traps that were announced soon after he took office in January.

The click-to-cancel rule is set to take effect on October 1 of this year — making NYC the first city to do so in the U.S. — and applies to automatic renewal and continuous service subscriptions, requiring businesses to clearly disclose subscription terms, deter free trials from quietly becoming costly subscriptions and provide an easy cancellation process. This includes gyms and other fitness facilities, which have long been the target of click-to-cancel policies.

Businesses that violate the rule will be subject to compensate consumers and civil penalties beginning at $525 per violation, the administration said.

The proposed junk fees rule, meanwhile, requires businesses to advertise the full price of goods and services upfront including all mandatory charges and fees, meant to deter hidden mandatory charges that appear late in the purchasing process, often at checkout. The practice has come under scrutiny recently, across everything from third-party delivery apps, airline prices, hotel bookings and ticketing platforms.

In practice, businesses would be banned from “misrepresenting the purpose, amount or refundability of any fees.” Those additional “service charges,” “processing fees” or similar mandatory fees would need to be included in the advertised price, with an explanation of what those fees actually cover.

The proposed rule will be subject to a public comment period and public hearing on August 7th.

Gyms Face Looming Click-to-Cancel Era

The concept of “click-to-cancel” has been controversial in the fitness and wellness industry for some time now. Last year, a U.S. appeals court struck down the Federal Trade Commission’s adoption of the rule, hailed as a “major victory” by the Health & Fitness Association (HFA). But the new NYC administration could be shifting the narrative in favor of consumer protection.

Earlier this year, Mamdani doubled down on his efforts to protect consumer interests, sending warning notices to NYC operators including Equinox, PureGym and Planet Fitness to adhere to laws such as the city’s Consumer Protection law, which prohibits deceptive advertising like “bait-and-switch” pricing and intentionally difficult routes to cancelling memberships. 

The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection reported that it received dozens of complaints from consumers struggling to cancel their gym memberships in 2025.

And New York is no stranger to holding operators accountable. Last year, Equinox was ordered to pay out $600,000 in penalties and refunds for customers who attempted to cancel but were unable to do so, after New York Attorney General Letitia James found the luxury fitness operator to have violated state consumer protection laws by making it challenging for members to cancel their subscriptions.

The Mamdani Administration’s policies reflect growing calls to simplify gym and health club memberships, even among policymakers in Washington, D.C.

At this year’s ATN Innovation Summit, HFA executives revealed that nearly half of policymakers don’t believe the industry is committed to fair and transparent membership practices, while roughly two-thirds of the general public say canceling a gym membership is too hard.

“The first thing out of their mouth is, ‘Can you help me get my son or daughter out of their gym membership?’” HFA chief of staff Mike Goscinski said.