NY State Senate Bill 2025-S9584

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 26, 2026	referred to consumer protection

2025-S9584 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Add §349-i, Gen Bus L; amd §441-c, RP L

2025-S9584 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Designates materially misleading digital representations in real estate listings as an unfair, deceptive or abusive act or false advertising; provides that a licensed real estate broker or salesperson shall be subject to suspension or revocation of their license for a violation of such provisions.

2025-S9584 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9584

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law and the real property law, in
relation to digital representations in real estate listings

 
PURPOSE:

To ensure that images, videos, and virtual tours used in real estate
listings accurately reflect the properties they depict, and to protect
consumers from misleading or deceptive digital representations.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This bill clarifies that the use of digitally altered or AI-generated
images, videos, or virtual tours in real estate listings may constitute
deceptive, unfair, or abusive acts under existing consumer protection
law when they materially misrepresent a property or interfere with a
reasonable buyer's understanding of it. It defines digital representa-
tions to include both static images and immersive media such as virtual

tours, and establishes that listings may not misstate a property's
condition, features, or layout. The bill requires clear disclosure when
images or tours have been materially altered or virtually staged, and
prohibits the addition of non-existent features or the concealment of
known defects without disclosure. It also sets a baseline accuracy stan-
dard for virtual tours, which must reflect the real spatial character-
istics of a property, and requires that conceptual or AI-generated
representations be clearly labeled.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Buying or renting a home is one of the most significant decisions most
New Yorkers will make. For many, the search begins online, where list-
ings are expected to provide a reliable picture of what a property actu-
ally looks like. Increasingly, that expectation is not being met.

Advances in artificial intelligence and digital editing tools have made
it easy to enhance listing photos in ways that go well beyond tradi-
tional staging. Images can now remove signs of damage, add features that
do not exist, or make rooms appear larger and brighter than they are.
Virtual tours can be reconstructed or generated to suggest layouts and
spaces that are materially different from reality. A prospective buyer
may take time off work, travel to a showing, and arrange financing based
on what appears to be an accurate listing, only to arrive and find some-
thing entirely different.

This gap between representation and reality is more than an inconven-
ience. It wastes time and money, distorts pricing and market expecta-
tions, and erodes trust in the real estate market. It also creates an
uneven playing field, where those who use increasingly aggressive
digital manipulation gain an advantage over those who present properties
honestly.

New York law already requires that advertising be truthful and not
misleading, and the Department of State has recently warned that AI-gen-
erated or heavily altered listing images may violate these standards.
However, the rapid development of these tools has created uncertainty
about how existing law applies, particularly with respect to virtual
tours and imrnersive media that purport to show the layout and spatial
relationships of a property.

This bill provides clarity. It allows reasonable enhancements, such as
basic lighting adjustments or virtual staging that does not mislead.
Instead, it draws a clear line: digital representations may not mate-
rially misrepresent a property or interfere with a reasonable consumer's
understanding of it. By explicitly addressing images and virtual tours,
and by requiring clear disclosure where alterations are used, the bill
ensures that consumers can rely on listings as meaningful previews rath-
er than marketing fiction. In short, this legislation ensures that as
technology evolves, the basic expectation of honesty in real estate
listings remains intact.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S9584 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9584
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 26, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business law and the real property  law,  in
   relation to digital representations in real estate listings
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
 349-i to read as follows:
   § 349-I. DIGITAL REPRESENTATIONS IN REAL ESTATE LISTINGS. 1.  FOR  THE
 PURPOSES  OF  THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING
 MEANINGS:
   (A) "DIGITAL REPRESENTATION" MEANS ANY IMAGE, VIDEO, OR INTERACTIVE OR
 IMMERSIVE MEDIA USED TO ADVERTISE OR  MARKET  REAL  PROPERTY,  INCLUDING
 VIRTUAL TOURS.
   (B)  "VIRTUAL  TOUR"  MEANS  ANY  INTERACTIVE, PANORAMIC, OR SIMULATED
 WALKTHROUGH THAT REPRESENTS THE LAYOUT OR SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS OF  REAL
 PROPERTY.
   (C)  "MATERIAL  ALTERATION"  MEANS  A MODIFICATION THAT WOULD AFFECT A
 REASONABLE  CONSUMER'S  UNDERSTANDING  OF  REAL  PROPERTY'S   CONDITION,
 FEATURES, OR LAYOUT.
   2.  IT  SHALL  CONSTITUTE  AN  UNFAIR,  DECEPTIVE OR ABUSIVE ACT UNDER
 SECTION THREE HUNDRED FORTY-NINE OF THIS ARTICLE AND  FALSE  ADVERTISING
 UNDER  SECTION  THREE  HUNDRED FIFTY OF THIS ARTICLE TO USE OR PUBLISH A
 DIGITAL REPRESENTATION OF REAL PROPERTY CONTAINING MATERIAL  ALTERATIONS
 THAT MATERIALLY MISREPRESENT, OR MATERIALLY INTERFERE WITH, A REASONABLE
 CONSUMER'S UNDERSTANDING OF:
   (A) THE CONDITION OF THE PROPERTY;
   (B) THE EXISTENCE OF PHYSICAL FEATURES OR IMPROVEMENTS; OR
   (C) THE LAYOUT, DIMENSIONS, OR SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS OF THE PROPERTY.
   3.  (A)  ANY  DIGITAL  REPRESENTATION THAT HAS BEEN MATERIALLY ALTERED
 SHALL INCLUDE A CLEAR AND  CONSPICUOUS  DISCLOSURE  THAT  SUCH  MATERIAL
 ALTERATIONS ARE PRESENT.
   (B)  WHERE  VIRTUAL  STAGING  IS  USED, A DIGITAL REPRESENTATION SHALL
 DISCLOSE THAT FURNISHINGS OR FINISHES WERE DIGITALLY ADDED.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD15359-01-6
 S. 9584                             2
 
   (C) NO DIGITAL ALTERATION SHALL ADD NON-EXISTENT PHYSICAL FEATURES  OR
 REMOVE  OR CONCEAL KNOWN MATERIAL DEFECTS IN REAL PROPERTY WITHOUT CLEAR
 AND CONSPICUOUS DISCLOSURE.
   4. (A) A VIRTUAL TOUR SHALL NOT MATERIALLY MISREPRESENT, OR MATERIALLY
 INTERFERE  WITH  A  REASONABLE  CONSUMER'S  UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAYOUT,
 DIMENSIONS, OR SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS OF A REAL PROPERTY.
   (B) A VIRTUAL TOUR THAT INCLUDES DIGITALLY  GENERATED,  RECONSTRUCTED,
 OR  CONCEPTUAL  ELEMENTS THAT DO NOT DEPICT REAL PROPERTY AS IT ACTUALLY
 EXISTS SHALL BE CLEARLY AND CONSPICUOUSLY LABELED  AS  A  CONCEPTUAL  OR
 AI-GENERATED REPRESENTATION.
   (C)  NO  VIRTUAL TOUR SHALL DEPICT SPACES, FEATURES, OR CONFIGURATIONS
 THAT DO NOT EXIST, EXCEPT WHERE CLEARLY AND CONSPICUOUSLY DISCLOSED.
   5. THE USE OR PUBLICATION OF  A  DIGITAL  REPRESENTATION  THAT  IS  IN
 VIOLATION  OF  SUBDIVISION  TWO,  THREE  OR  FOUR  OF  THIS SECTION BY A
 LICENSED REAL ESTATE BROKER OR SALESPERSON SHALL CONSTITUTE  UNTRUSTWOR-
 THINESS  OR  INCOMPETENCY  UNDER  PARAGRAPH  (A)  OF  SUBDIVISION ONE OF
 SECTION FOUR HUNDRED FORTY-ONE-C OF  THE  REAL  PROPERTY  LAW,  AND  THE
 DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE  SHALL BE AUTHORIZED TO REVOKE THE LICENSE OF SUCH
 REAL ESTATE BROKER OR SALESPERSON, SUSPEND SUCH  LICENSE,  OR  IMPOSE  A
 FINE IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH SECTION FOR SUCH VIOLATION.
   6.  THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SHALL BE AUTHORIZED TO ENFORCE THE PROVISIONS
 OF THIS SECTION AS PROVIDED UNDER THIS ARTICLE.
   7. THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE MAY ISSUE GUIDANCE OR PROMULGATE  RULES  OR
 REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION, INCLUDING STAN-
 DARDS  FOR  DISCLOSURES  AND  EXAMPLES  OF PERMISSIBLE AND IMPERMISSIBLE
 PRACTICES.
   8. (A) NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO  PROHIBIT  VISUAL
 ENHANCEMENTS  THAT  DO  NOT  MATERIALLY  AFFECT  A REASONABLE CONSUMER'S
 UNDERSTANDING OF A REAL PROPERTY'S CONDITION, FEATURES, OR LAYOUT.
   (B) NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO PROHIBIT THE USE  OF
 DIGITAL  REPRESENTATIONS  DEPICTING PROPOSED REMODELING, RECONSTRUCTION,
 OR NEW CONSTRUCTION THAT DOES NOT YET EXIST, PROVIDED THAT SUCH  DIGITAL
 REPRESENTATIONS  ARE  CLEARLY AND CONSPICUOUSLY LABELED AS CONCEPTUAL OR
 PROPOSED AND NOT DEPICTING THE REAL PROPERTY AS IT CURRENTLY EXISTS, AND
 ARE NOT PRESENTED IN A MANNER LIKELY TO MISLEAD A REASONABLE CONSUMER.
   § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 441-c of the real prop-
 erty law, as amended by chapter 529 of the laws of 2022, is  amended  to
 read as follows:
   (a)  The  department  of state may revoke the license of a real estate
 broker or salesperson or suspend  the  same,  for  such  period  as  the
 department  may  deem  proper,  or in lieu thereof may impose a fine not
 exceeding two thousand dollars  payable  to  the  department  of  state,
 provided  that fifty percent of all moneys received by the department of
 state for such fines shall be  payable  to  the  anti-discrimination  in
 housing  fund  established  pursuant  to  section  eighty-a of the state
 finance law, or a  reprimand  upon  conviction  of  the  licensee  of  a
 violation of any provision of this article, or for a violation of subdi-
 vision  four of section four hundred forty-two-h of this article, or for
 a material misstatement in the application for such license, or if  such
 licensee  has  been  guilty  of  fraud  or  fraudulent practices, or for
 dishonest or misleading advertising, or has demonstrated  untrustworthi-
 ness  or  incompetency  to  act  as  a real estate broker or salesperson
 INCLUDING AS PROVIDED UNDER SUBDIVISION FIVE OF  SECTION  THREE  HUNDRED
 FORTY-NINE-I  OF THE GENERAL BUSINESS LAW, or for a violation of article
 fifteen of the executive law committed  in  their  capacity  as  a  real
 estate  broker or salesperson, as the case may be. In the case of a real
 S. 9584                             3
 
 estate broker engaged in the business of a tenant relocator, untrustwor-
 thiness or incompetency shall include engaging in any course of  conduct
 including,  but  not  limited  to, the interruption or discontinuance of
 essential  building service, that interferes with or disturbs the peace,
 comfort, repose and quiet enjoyment of a tenant.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S9584

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Actions

2025-S9584 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S9584 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S9584 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S9584 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Rachel May

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Actions

2025-S9584 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S9584 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S9584 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S9584 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments