Zohran Mamdani to New Yorkers: You don’t have to worry about fake apartment listings

Zohran Mamdani

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced a new requirement for real estate agents and rental listing platforms operating in the Big Apple. Under the proposal, real estate agents and rental listing platforms would be required to disclose the use of AI-generated or digitally altered images and videos in rental advertisements.

The measure, outlined in his 68-page "Rental Ripoff Report," aims to address misleading online apartment listings, with Mamdani saying, "You shouldn't have to worry whether the apartment you are viewing online is real."The proposal is part of a broader package of tenant-protection measures, which was unveiled following the city's "Rental Ripoff Hearings" held earlier this year. Alongside AI disclosure rules, the report also includes initiatives targeting black mould, pests, broken elevators, fire safety concerns, and landlord accountability.

AI disclosure rule proposed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for rental listings

According to the report, New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection will work with Zillow and StreetEasy to enforce a requirement for "clear and conspicuous disclosure" whenever AI-generated or digitally altered images or videos are used in rental listings that could mislead prospective tenants."It's called StreetEasy, not StreetHard," Mamdani said while announcing the proposal. The report does not specify an implementation date.

It states that the announced initiatives will be rolled out over the next three years, with implementation taking place in stages.Responding to the proposal, a StreetEasy spokesperson told Business Insider: "We agree with Mayor Mamdani that finding a new rental in NYC should be easy, and that's why finding an apartment on StreetEasy is… easy. We look forward to continuing our work with the Mamdani administration, as well as state and federal officials, to ensure it stays that way."The spokesperson added that the company expects listings to accurately represent a home "whether AI is involved or not," and encouraged users to report listings they believe are misleading.

New York’s Rental Ripoff Report also outlines wider tenant protection measures

The AI disclosure proposal forms one section of Mamdani's broader tenant reform agenda. During the announcement, he outlined plans for universal inspections of heat complaints, easier inspection rescheduling, legal recognition of tenant unions, and a digital system to catalogue landlord penalties to help identify repeat offenders."New Yorkers have been able to schedule food deliveries and the time they pick up their clothes at the dry cleaner for years," Mamdani said.Addressing housing maintenance issues, Mamdani said the city receives the highest number of complaints about pests, mould, and broken elevators."No longer will landlords be allowed to slap a new coat of paint over a wall of black mould and pretend that the issue is fixed," Mamdani said, drawing applause from attendees at New York's Tenement Museum.The mayor also said the city intends to digitise records of landlord penalties, describing the measure as a way to identify repeat offenders while supporting landlords who "operate with integrity."During the "Rental Ripoff Hearings," Cea Weaver, director of the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants, said, "We know that not every landlord is a bad landlord, but we want to be able to find the ones that are."The AI disclosure proposal comes as concerns grow over digitally altered property listings. Realtors previously told Business Insider that AI-generated misrepresentations in rental advertisements had become more common, a practice they referred to as "housefishing." In addition to New York, California has also introduced requirements for AI disclosures in real estate listings.