Apartment hunting has long required looking past flattering camera angles and carefully staged rooms. Now, renters may also have to question whether what they\u2019re seeing is altered by AI.<\/p>\n
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> on July 16 proposed requiring landlords, brokers and online listing platforms to disclose when rental listing photos or videos have been created using AI or digitally altered with AI or other digital tools.<\/p>\n \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t have to worry whether or not the apartment you\u2019re viewing online is real,\u201d Mamdani said while announcing the proposal<\/a> at Manhattan\u2019s Tenement Museum. \u201cAfter all, it\u2019s called StreetEasy, not StreetHard.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposal is part of the city\u2019s Rental Ripoff Report, a package of 23 tenant-protection initiatives unveiled after officials gathered testimony from more than 2,400 renters during a series of \u201cRental Ripoff Hearings\u201d held across the city\u2019s five boroughs earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n This effort comes as generative AI is making convincing real estate listing images faster and easier to produce, raising new concerns about transparency in online housing marketplaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n The phenomenon has earned its own vocabulary \u2014 \u201chousefishing\u201d \u2014 with the Guardian and Business Insider both tracing complaints<\/a> about repainted walls, imaginary lawns and unnaturally smooth surfaces that read as giveaways of digital manipulation. The Atlantic called it \u201cAI real-estate slop<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The evidence spans hard data and vivid anecdotes alike: a Coraly analysis of roughly 40,000 listing photos on Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com<\/a> and Homes.com<\/a> found nearly 11% showed signs of AI alteration<\/a> , while New York\u2019s own Department of State issued a trend alert warning<\/a> homebuyers to watch for \u201cdistorted or inconsistent details\u201d like blurry backgrounds and mismatched window views.\u00a0<\/p>\n Viral cases have made the stakes tangible: a Detroit bungalow\u2019s AI-enhanced Zillow photos<\/a> drew millions of views after a renter\u2019s side-by-side comparison exposed a repainted facade and refinished floors that didn\u2019t exist in person, and a Verge investigation documented a renter named Joyce whose apartment viewing<\/a> revealed a missing fireplace, a different sink, and a stove with knobs that simply weren\u2019t there.\u00a0<\/p>\n Zillow, whose platform was named in the proposal alongside StreetEasy, said it supports the city\u2019s push for greater transparency. \u201cWe 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,\u201d a Zillow spokesperson told Fortune.<\/p>\n The company added that while \u201cdigitally altered listing photos are not new,\u201d AI has made them \u201cfaster to produce, sometimes harder to spot and more widespread.\u201d<\/p>\n Zillow said its content standards require listing photos to accurately represent a home. It added that its virtual staging feature is clearly labeled and paired with the original image so buyers can compare both versions. \u201cAI should help set accurate expectations before a tour, not create surprises when a buyer walks through the door,\u201d the company told Fortune.<\/p>\n The proposal follows similar efforts in other states. California enacted a law requiring disclosure when real estate listing images<\/a> have been materially altered using AI or other digital tools, while New Jersey lawmakers<\/a> are considering legislation that would regulate the deceptive use of AI-generated and heavily altered property listing images.<\/p>\n Justin Brookman, director of Technology Policy at Consumer Reports, told Fortune that AI has made it \u201cincreasingly possible to do photorealistic images in ways that really materially misrepresent what you\u2019re getting.\u201d<\/p>\n Brookman also mentioned that the stakes are particularly high for renters<\/a> relocating from out of town who may have to sign a lease sight unseen. \u201cThey might sign a year-long lease, and they show up and they\u2019re on the hook for staying in a place that was not what they signed up for,\u201d Brookman said.<\/p>\n While deceptive listings may already violate consumer protection laws, Brookman said clearer disclosure requirements provide \u201cbasic guardrails\u201d as AI-generated listing images become more common. He said AI-altered listing images could include a link to the original photo, and noted he has also seen recommendations that edited and unedited images be displayed side by side.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the spirit of transparency, people should know what they\u2019re getting into,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the very least, having an indicator that this was virtually staged, or these are some things that were added, I think is the baseline.\u201d<\/p>\n Similar frustrations have also surfaced on social media. TikTok user Curt_Walke<\/a>r has posted multiple videos comparing StreetEasy listing photos with actual apartment tours. Under one video<\/a>, a commenter said they viewed a Harlem apartment advertised with what appeared to be a second-floor loft with a dining area and bedroom, only to arrive and find \u201cthere was literally not even a ladder let alone a loft.\u201d<\/p>\n If adopted, New York City would become one of the latest jurisdictions to regulate how AI is used in real estate listings, reflecting a broader push by lawmakers to ensure AI tools do not mislead consumers making one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.<\/p>\n