Mayor Zohran Mamdani sends 'AI warning' to landlords in New York

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is warning landlords, brokers and rental platforms about the use of AI in apartment listings. In a new post on X (formerly Twitter), Zohran Mamdani said New Yorkers should know whether the apartment they are viewing online is real.

He said his administration is working on rules that would require rental listings to clearly disclose when photos and videos have been generated or altered using AI. “Finding a home in New York is hard enough without artificially generating more problems,” Mamdani wrote, while sharing a New York Times report on the issue.“New Yorkers should know whether the apartment they’re looking at is real,” he stated adding “That’s why we’re working to require apartment listings to clearly disclose when images and videos have been generated by AI”.The post comes months after Mamdani first proposed new disclosure rules for AI-altered real estate listings in July this year.

Zohran Mamdani wants AI-edited apartment photos clearly disclosed

Zohran Mamdani's proposal would require landlords, brokers and online listing platforms to disclose when rental listing photos or videos have been created using AI or digitally altered with AI and other digital tools.The proposal was part of a wider package of 23 tenant-protection measures called the Rental Ripoff Report.

The measures followed testimony from more than 2,400 New York renters during hearings held across the city's five boroughs.Mamdani argued that renters should not have to find out only after visiting an apartment that an online listing does not accurately represent the property. When he announced the proposal in July, he said: “You shouldn’t have to worry whether or not the apartment you’re viewing online is real.”He also joked: “After all, it’s called StreetEasy, not StreetHard.”

AI is making real estate listings harder to trust

The issue has grown as AI tools have made it easier to create or change realistic property images. A Coraly analysis of about 40,000 listing photos from Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and Homes.com found that nearly 11% showed signs of AI alteration, according to the Fortune report.New York's Department of State has also warned homebuyers to look for signs such as distorted details, blurry backgrounds and window views that do not match.

The problem has been described as “housefishing”, referring to property listings that make homes appear different from what renters or buyers actually find.

Why the issue matters to New York renters

Consumer Reports technology policy director Justin Brookman earlier told Fortune that AI now makes it increasingly possible to create photorealistic images that can materially change what a person expects from a property. The issue can be particularly important for people moving to New York from another city. Some renters may have to choose an apartment without seeing it in person before signing a lease.Mamdani's latest post puts the focus back on that problem: New Yorkers should know when the home they see online has been changed by AI.