Virtual Staging on Zillow, Realtor.ca, Rightmove: 2026 Rules

Agents ask about portals: is virtual staging allowed on Zillow, does Realtor.ca have a rule, what does Rightmove want? The short answer depends on the country. In the US and Canada, most listings reach the portals through the MLS, so the MLS rule is the one that binds you. In the UK and Australia there is no MLS, and the portals write the practical rules themselves. Airbnb is its own world.

We read each portal's own pages on 25 October 2026: help centres, terms and published statements. Where a portal has a rule, we quote it. Where we found none, we say so and point you to the rule that does apply. We make an AI virtual staging tool, so we'd like staging to be used. That's a reason to quote the rules as they're written.

Portal rules at a glance

Zillow

Zillow set out its position in a post on its news site on 22 July 2026. Three sentences matter for agents.

On accuracy: "Zillow's content standards require that listing photos accurately represent the home." On who is responsible: "Most content comes to us through MLS feeds, so agents and brokers carry front-line responsibility for accuracy." And on disclosure: "Zillow supports clear disclosure when AI is used to materially alter a listing image and, where possible, believes consumers should be able to view the original content alongside the altered version."

That's a position, not a rulebook. Zillow doesn't tell agents where to put a label or what it should say. So in practice, the rule you follow on Zillow is your MLS's rule. Shoppers who think a listing is inaccurate can use the "Report Listing" button, and Zillow reviews those reports.

Zillow also has its own virtual staging feature on Showcase listings. Zillow describes it as "shopper-initiated, clearly labeled and always paired with the original unaltered photo". That's a feature for buyers, not a rule for your photos, but it shows the standard Zillow holds itself to: a label, and the original one tap away.

Realtor.com

We found no rule on Realtor.com about virtually staged or AI-edited photos. Its terms of use ask anyone who posts content to "provide true, accurate and complete information" and bar content "which is misleading to others, including consumers". Listings reach Realtor.com from the MLS, so the label and placement rules are your MLS's.

Redfin

We found no staging rule on Redfin either. Its terms, updated on 29 September 2025, cover agents who post a listing to Redfin directly. They confirm that they have complied with the policies of "the applicable MLS®", and that they only submit information they know to be true and accurate.

One line is practical for staged photos: "Do not embed any marketing information in listing photos or videos, including an agent's name, company or brokerage name, logo, phone number, or email address." A staging company's name on the photo is a company name. Use an unbranded label.

Where the label goes on US portals

This is where most mistakes happen. Your MLS decides whether the label goes on the photo, in a photo field or in the remarks, and the portals show what the MLS sends them. Not every field travels. Smart MLS, for one, tells its agents that its photo caption field "is not included in data feeds to 3rd party/IDX sites", which is why it wants a stamp on the photo itself.

Other MLSs ban words on the photo and want the disclosure in the remarks instead. Our MLS rules by state and province give the address for each MLS we have read, and the free disclosure wording tool gives the words. Where your MLS allows a label on the photo, the virtually staged label maker stamps it in your browser. Then open the listing on Zillow, Realtor.com and Redfin and check that the disclosure shows.

Airbnb

Airbnb has a rule, and it is clear. Its ground rules for hosts say the photos "should accurately represent the space provided", and: "We will ask hosts to remove content if AI or other digital technology has been used to edit flaws, hide damage, add amenities or attributes that are not part of a listing, or otherwise misrepresent the listing." Airbnb's content policy applies to "any content generated or edited using AI".

On Airbnb, the furniture is part of what the guest books. A sofa that isn't in the room is an amenity that isn't there. So virtual staging doesn't belong in an Airbnb listing, label or not. It's useful one step earlier: to decide how to furnish an empty room before you buy anything, and then photograph the real one.

REALTOR.ca

REALTOR.ca publishes no virtual staging rule we could find. CREA, which runs it, published principles on AI in June 2026: "Consumers and REALTORS® should clearly understand when AI is materially influencing information, communications, or representations." And: "The adoption of AI does not alleviate the professional responsibilities of REALTORS®." REM reported in March 2026 that CREA and REALTOR.ca "do not regulate AI use in listings".

So the rule for a photo on REALTOR.ca is your board's MLS rule and your provincial regulator's: Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and the rest of Canada. They differ: Alberta's rules want staging disclosed in the public remarks, while Quebec's regulator asks for a clear, visible statement.

Rightmove

Rightmove's help page on misleading adverts, modified on 22 September 2026, is the clearest portal rule we have read: "AI-generated or enhanced images can be used on Rightmove, but they must not create a misleading or unrealistic representation of the property. AI images should be displayed alongside genuine photographs of the property, allowing home hunters to clearly understand its actual appearance and condition."

It adds that they "should not be used to disguise the property's true condition, add features that do not exist, or otherwise create an unrealistic impression of what is being offered". So on Rightmove, upload the genuine photo next to the staged one. The UK rules cover the consumer law and The Property Ombudsman's codes behind it.

Zoopla

Zoopla's member terms, updated on 1 December 2025, say that where a photo is "produced using autonomous technology (fully or partial), machine learning or other analogous technologies the Member will make this clear" (clause 5.1(c)). Zoopla "may decline to upload" such content where the law or the integrity of its site requires (clause 5.1(d)). The terms don't prescribe the words or the place, so make it plain on or next to the photo.

realestate.com.au

realestate.com.au's Acceptable Use Policy, amended in September 2026, bans photos and other content "generated or edited using artificial intelligence (AI) tools" unless "the content is not likely to mislead prospective buyers or renters on the nature, condition, or features of the property being marketed or the surrounding area" and "the AI usage is clearly disclosed in a prominent location on or adjacent to the relevant content" (clause 4.1.40).

Watermarks are limited too: only "a transparent watermark with no colour inserted in the bottom right hand corner of the image with surface area no greater than 15% of the total image's surface area" (clause 4.1.8). The Australian rules cover the consumer law and the state regulators.

Domain

Domain's help centre says that "images submitted for inclusion in a listing must be current and unembellished representations of the opportunity", that "Images must be of the actual property", and that "Images may not include any text or corporate message". It says nothing about staging or AI by name. With no text allowed on the photo, put the disclosure in the description, and put the unstaged photo next to the staged one: it's the clearest disclosure Domain leaves you.

BeforeAfter

Before a staged photo goes to any portal

The free tools cover US and Canadian MLSs. For the UK and Australia, the wording is in the articles above.

What every portal agrees on

Outside Airbnb, no portal we read bans furniture in an empty room. Every portal with a rule draws the same line our MLS rules draw: the photo may show what could go in the room, never a different room. And the one that wants the original beside it, Rightmove, says out loud what the rest imply: a buyer should be able to see the room as it is. Keep every original, at full size. A careful buyer can ask for it.

If you list in the US or Canada, free virtual staging for listing agents has three free renders and the label rules on one page.

Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, Airbnb, REALTOR.ca, Rightmove, Zoopla, Domain and realestate.com.au are trademarks of their owners; we're not affiliated with any of them. Every quote was read on the portal's own page on 25 October 2026, apart from the REM report of March 2026. Portals change their pages; check the current version before you rely on it. This is not legal advice.