Dear IMLS Members,
As some of you may know, in the last couple of weeks, we have recently recognized the need for updating a rule in MLS to align more effectively with today’s marketing strategies for all agents.
Because so many of us are using photography in a much more significant way due to online marketing techniques, the IMLS Rules Committee brought it to our attention that our current rule prevented some of the strategies popular today. They encouraged the Board of Directors to look at the rule, update the guidelines to allow additional photography while still complying with the current requirements of the National Association of REALTORS® and Federal Fair Housing Regulations.
First, it’s important to understand that the primary function of our rule is to ensure that the consumer isn’t mislead, nor are we directly advertising other businesses in our photos. That being said, we all acknowledge that with drone photography available to us these days, we have a terrific tool to help demonstrate to our consumers the proximity of the subject properties to different amenities. So after much discussion and a vote of your IMLS Board of Directors today, the revised rule does allow for us to include the following in our photography:
Allowed :
- Photos of the outside and inside of the home for sale.
- Photos of HOA Amenities (such as pool, playground, common areas, community gym)
- Aerial photos including the home
- Aerial photos with tags of locations around the home such as (school, greenbelt, river, shopping, restaurants) No private business names
- Lifestyle photos and stock images that are pertinent to the property and not deceptive to the public.
Not allowed:
- Lifestyle photos or stock photos that could be a violation of Federal Fair Housing Rules
- https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/fair_housing_act_overview
- Photos of businesses or tagging of business names in photos.
Keep in mind that this is strictly regarding IMLS photos. So, your branded tours, social media posts, personal web page posts, etc are at your discretion, but the data on the MLS must follow the above guidelines. If you have questions about what is allowed in general marketing, please discuss with your broker. You can also view the rule in it’s entirety below.
The goal is to make sure that we, as real estate professionals, are able to properly demonstrate our properties, help our consumers understand what is nearby, how our homes and communities look all while ensuring we aren’t advertising for other businesses, nor violating any rules imposed by the Federal Government or the National Association of REALTORS®.
We hope this helps you when marketing your homes, and please use this as a great reminder to take another look at our current IMLS rules to ensure that you are in compliance with all of your marketing. We want to make sure we protect the integrity of our data and our consumers.
Many thanks,
Kit
Kit Fitzgerald
2023 IMLS President
Revised Rule 2.1 as of 5.24.23
Section 1.2 Detail on Residential Listings Input into The Service: A listing agreement, or Property Data Form, when input into the Multiple Listing Service by the listing broker shall be complete in every detail which is ascertainable as specified as “Required Items” on the property data form. Listings that contain missing or inaccurate information may be subject to a fine.
Descriptions of Property – Only information pertinent to the description of the property listed will be permitted to be displayed in any field of the MLS. Any contact information, personal marketing, third party marketing or specific naming of any brokerage, lender, title company, bank or other affiliated service provider may only be displayed in the Agent Remarks field and shall not be displayed in the Public Remarks field. Any contact or personal marketing information is not to be displayed in Associated Documents. Specific naming of any brokerage, lender, title company, bank or other affiliated service provider is not permitted to be displayed in Associated Documents with the exception of documents required for the transaction.
Physical Depictions of Property – Any physical depiction of a listed property, including, but not limited to photographs, digital images, virtual tours, and sketches, which are submitted to the Service, shall depict only the property for sale.
Allowed:
- Inside and outside photos of the property for sale.
- Photos of HOA Amenities (such as pool, playground, common areas, community gym).
- Aerial photos with tags of locations around the home such as (school, greenbelt, river, shopping, restaurants) No private business names. Listed property must also be in aerial photos.
- Lifestyle photos and stock images that are pertinent to the property and not deceptive to the public.
Not allowed:
- Lifestyle photos or stock photos that could be a violation of Federal Fair Housing Rules
- Photos of businesses or tagging of business names in photos.
- Photographs, digital images and sketches shall not include listing brokers or agent contact information or other personal marketing information.
- Virtual Tours and/or Virtual Tour URL’s that include brokerages, listing brokers, agent contact information or other personal marketing information must be placed in the Branded Tour field.
Any office or agent cannot use another agent’s or office’s photographs, digital images, virtual tours, or sketches to promote a new/active listing without written permission. Any violation of this policy shall be considered a violation of the MLS Rules and Regulations and may be subject to a fine.