New York City targets AI-altered rental listing photos
Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants landlords, brokers and listing sites to disclose when rental images or videos have been created or changed with AI.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
4 min read
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has proposed rules requiring clearer labels on rental listings that use AI-made or digitally altered images. The measure would affect landlords, brokers and online platforms, aiming to give renters a better sense of whether an apartment shown online matches the unit they may tour or lease.
Mamdani announced the proposal July 16 at Manhattan’s Tenement Museum, according to the mayor’s office. “You shouldn’t have to worry whether or not the apartment you’re viewing online is real,” he said, adding: “After all, it’s called StreetEasy, not StreetHard.”
The disclosure plan is part of the city’s Rental Ripoff Report, a 23-point tenant-protection package released after officials heard from more than 2,400 renters at hearings across all five boroughs, according to the mayor’s office.
AI edits draw scrutiny
The proposal comes as generative AI tools make it easier to produce polished property images. Complaints about altered listings have grown common enough to acquire a nickname, “housefishing,” with The Guardian and Business Insider reporting on examples such as changed wall colors, invented lawns and overly smooth surfaces. The Atlantic has described the trend as “AI real-estate slop.”
Coraly, a real estate technology company, analyzed roughly 40,000 listing photos from Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and Homes.com and found that nearly 11% showed signs of AI alteration, according to Real Estate News. The New York Department of State has also issued a trend alert advising homebuyers to look for “distorted or inconsistent details,” including blurry backgrounds and window views that do not match.
Some cases have drawn wide attention online. A Detroit bungalow listed on Zillow was compared with in-person images in a renter’s video that showed differences including a changed exterior and floors that appeared refinished in the listing photos. The Verge reported on a renter named Joyce who found that an apartment she viewed differed from images that showed features including a fireplace, a sink and stove knobs that were not present.
Zillow backs disclosure
Zillow, which was named in the proposal along with StreetEasy, told Fortune it supports clearer rules for AI use in listings. “We support clear disclosure when AI is used to materially alter a listing image, and believe consumers should be able to view the original content alongside the altered version wherever possible,” a company spokesperson said.
The company told Fortune that edited listing photos are not a new issue, but AI has made them quicker to create, harder in some cases to detect and more common. Zillow said its standards require listing images to represent homes accurately, and said its own virtual staging tool is labeled and shown with the original image.
“AI should help set accurate expectations before a tour, not create surprises when a buyer walks through the door,” Zillow told Fortune.
Other states have moved on listings
New York City’s proposal follows action elsewhere. California has enacted a law requiring disclosure when real estate listing images are materially altered with AI or other digital tools. New Jersey lawmakers are weighing legislation aimed at deceptive AI-generated and heavily edited property images.
Justin Brookman, director of technology policy at Consumer Reports, told Fortune that AI now allows photorealistic images that can misrepresent what a renter or buyer will get. He said the risks are higher for renters moving from outside the city who may agree to a lease without seeing the apartment first.
Brookman said deceptive listings may already run afoul of consumer protection law, but specific disclosure rules would create clearer safeguards. He told Fortune that altered listings could link to original photos or show edited and unedited images together.
Renters have also documented complaints on social media. TikTok user Curt_Walker has posted comparisons of StreetEasy listings and apartment tours; in one comment cited on TikTok, a viewer said a Harlem apartment appeared to include a loft area in the listing but had no loft when visited.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.