Plotpane · New York City (REBNY RLS — Manhattan + Brooklyn)
New York City (REBNY RLS — Manhattan + Brooklyn)
REBNY virtual staging compliance: UCBA (February 2025) + RLS compliance program + NY 19 NYCRR 175.25 advertising rule
The Real Estate Board of New York is the trade body that runs the Residential Listing Service (RLS) for Manhattan and Brooklyn — not a statewide MLS. Virtual staging compliance on a REBNY listing is therefore a three-layer stack: the RLS Universal Co-Brokerage Agreement Rules and Regulations (current clean version February 2025, with 2026 UCBA changes already announced), REBNY's standalone RLS Compliance program at rebny.com/compliance, and New York's broker advertising rule at 19 NYCRR 175.25, which sits on top of Real Property Law §440 and §443. Manhattan listings add a fourth layer — the co-op board's house rules. This page is the practical compliance reference for REBNY RLS participants at Douglas Elliman, The Corcoran Group, Sotheby's International Realty NYC, Compass NYC, Brown Harris Stevens, Serhant., Warburg Realty (Coldwell Banker), and Stribling — not legal advice, and always verify the current UCBA version before uploading edited photos.
REBNY RLS scope — Manhattan and Brooklyn only, and what the UCBA actually requires for photos
REBNY's RLS is the co-brokerage database for Manhattan and Brooklyn; Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester, and Long Island sit on OneKey MLS instead, so the first compliance decision is which rulebook applies to the listing. For RLS inventory, the controlling document is the UCBA Rules and Regulations (current clean version February 2025 — the January 2024 version it replaced is still cited in older guidance, and a 2026 UCBA revision has been published for the next cycle). The UCBA requires listing content to accurately represent the property being offered and prohibits deceptive imagery; virtual staging is permitted under that standard provided each edited photo is identified as staged and the edits are additive personal property — furniture, rugs, art, soft goods, plants — rather than modifications to walls, floors, built-ins, views, or the building envelope. REBNY's RLS Compliance program (rebny.com/compliance, launched in the 2020 compliance-measures release and still running) handles complaints, removes non-compliant imagery, and escalates repeat-offender participants; the 2019 migration of RLS data to CoreLogic and subsequent RESO updates did not change the substantive photo rule. NAR Standard of Practice 12-13 reinforces the same "true picture" principle for every Realtor member of REBNY.
REBNY RLS covers Manhattan and Brooklyn only — outer NY and LI are OneKey MLS
Current rulebook: UCBA Rules and Regulations, February 2025 clean version (replaces January 2024); 2026 UCBA revisions announced
Photo standard: accurate representation, additive staging only, no modification of real-property elements
RLS Compliance program at rebny.com/compliance handles removal and participant sanctions
NAR Code of Ethics Standard of Practice 12-13 binds every Realtor member alongside the UCBA
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Disclosure workflow — caption, listing remarks, and the NY 19 NYCRR 175.25 advertising overlay
REBNY's common-practice disclosure is a two-part pattern that also satisfies the New York Department of State broker advertising rule at 19 NYCRR 175.25: first, a visible caption on each edited frame — the market-standard wording is "Virtually Staged — Furniture Not Included" — and second, a one-line disclosure in the public remarks so the notice survives syndication to StreetEasy, Zillow, Realtor.com, and the brokerage's own site. 19 NYCRR 175.25 treats misleading photographs as deceptive advertising under the UDAP framework, and Real Property Law §443 (Agency Disclosure) requires the relationship to be disclosed in writing on first substantive contact — when you are running dual agency, restate the virtual-staging notice in the §443 agency disclosure form itself, not only in the RLS caption. The Plotpane workflow fits this stack in three passes. Pass one, export from Plotpane at 4K with zero burned-in watermark on any plan, so the REBNY-standard "Virtually Staged — Furniture Not Included" label can be applied at upload without clashing with a vendor logo. Pass two, mirror the disclosure in the RLS public remarks for syndication hygiene. Pass three, rely on Plotpane's invisible XMP disclosure metadata — it rides through Compass Marketing Center, BHS, Corcoran, Sotheby's International Realty, Douglas Elliman, Serhant., Warburg, and Stribling asset libraries, so the staging record is still attached to the file six months later when the listing has moved three systems.
Caption standard: "Virtually Staged — Furniture Not Included" on each edited frame
Mirror the disclosure in the public remarks so StreetEasy and Zillow syndication both carry the notice
19 NYCRR 175.25 — misleading imagery is deceptive advertising under NY UDAP
Real Property Law §443 — restate the virtual-staging disclosure in the dual-agency form
Plotpane ships clean 4K exports with invisible XMP disclosure metadata that survives brokerage asset pipelines
Four recurring NYC-specific edge cases tighten the REBNY standard beyond the UCBA text. First, Manhattan co-op boards layer their own marketing restrictions on top of the RLS rule — Fifth Avenue, Park Avenue, Central Park West, and Sutton Place cooperatives routinely restrict exterior and amenity photography in the proprietary lease or house rules, and virtual staging must respect those restrictions; adding a roof deck, gym, or pool that the board bars from marketing implies rights the seller cannot convey. Second, the pre-war fixture problem across the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, and the downtown historic corridor (TriBeCa, SoHo): original ceiling medallions, picture rails, parquet, mantels, and casement hardware are fixtures that convey with the unit — you can stage furniture around them, but retouching, repainting, or removing them in the image crosses the UCBA line on accurate representation. Third, Brooklyn brownstones and townhouses (Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Williamsburg, DUMBO): the garden level, stoop, and original woodwork are buyer-differentiating features, so additive staging must stay off those surfaces; virtually "restoring" a damaged newel post or refinishing the stair treads in the image is a modification, not staging. Fourth, HPD and MLS are separate rulebooks — NYC Housing Preservation & Development governs building-level conditions (lead paint, certificates of occupancy, HPD violations) and does not bless MLS imagery, so HPD compliance does not cure a non-compliant RLS photo and vice versa. Douglas Elliman, Corcoran, Sotheby's International Realty NYC, Compass NYC, Brown Harris Stevens, Serhant., Warburg Realty, and Stribling all enforce the same additive-only boundary in their internal marketing playbooks.
Co-op board overlay — Fifth Avenue, Park Avenue, CPW, Sutton Place restrictions survive into virtual staging
Pre-war fixtures convey — stage around medallions, parquet, picture rails; never retouch or remove them
Brooklyn brownstone boundary — no virtual restoration of newel posts, stair treads, or original woodwork
HPD versus RLS — building-level HPD compliance does not cure an inaccurate MLS photo
Brokerage playbooks at Elliman, Corcoran, Sotheby's, Compass, BHS, Serhant., Warburg, and Stribling all enforce additive-only staging
For this region
Local questions, answered
Does REBNY RLS require a visible watermark on a virtually staged photo, or is a remarks-line disclosure enough?+
REBNY's common-practice standard is both — the "Virtually Staged — Furniture Not Included" caption on each edited image plus a one-line disclosure in the public remarks. That combined pattern matches the UCBA (February 2025) accurate-representation standard, NAR Code of Ethics Standard of Practice 12-13, and the NY Department of State broker advertising rule at 19 NYCRR 175.25. Plotpane ships clean 4K exports on every plan so the REBNY caption reads without fighting a vendor watermark, and every staged file carries an invisible XMP disclosure tag so the record persists downstream through Compass, BHS, Corcoran, Sotheby's, and Elliman asset libraries. Always verify the current UCBA version — rules evolve, and the 2026 UCBA revision is already published.
Can I repaint a wall, refinish a parquet floor, or brighten a pre-war ceiling medallion in a REBNY listing photo?+
No. The UCBA's accurate-representation standard limits RLS imagery to additive personal property — furniture, rugs, art, soft goods, plants. Walls, floors, built-ins, millwork, ceiling medallions, original casement hardware, and any other fixture that conveys with the apartment must appear as they actually are unless the seller physically delivers the change at closing as part of the list price. Virtual "restoration" of damaged original detail is treated as a modification of the real property, not staging, and is outside the REBNY rule and outside the NAR Article 12 "true picture" obligation. Always verify the current UCBA version — rules evolve.
How does REBNY RLS virtual staging interact with Manhattan co-op board photo restrictions and Real Property Law §443 dual-agency disclosure?+
Co-op board house rules and the proprietary lease can restrict marketing of exterior, amenity, and common-area imagery — those restrictions survive into virtual staging, so you cannot virtually add a pool, gym, or roof deck the board bars from marketing. On dual agency, Real Property Law §443 requires written agency disclosure on first substantive contact; when a single licensee represents both sides on a REBNY listing, restate the virtual-staging notice inside the §443 form in addition to the RLS caption and remarks line. Plotpane's invisible XMP disclosure metadata plus the clean 4K export gives you a defensible record across the board, the RLS, and the §443 packet. Always verify the current UCBA version — rules evolve.
What is the enforcement risk if a Douglas Elliman, Corcoran, Compass, or Brown Harris Stevens agent forgets the virtual-staging disclosure on a REBNY RLS listing?+
REBNY's RLS Compliance program (rebny.com/compliance) can remove the non-compliant image, cite the participant, and escalate repeat violations through the UCBA process — sanctions range from letters of admonishment to suspension of RLS access. Non-disclosure can also be raised as a NAR Article 12 ethics complaint through REBNY's ethics panel, and the New York Department of State can open an advertising complaint under Real Property Law §440 and 19 NYCRR 175.25. Brokerage-level marketing compliance at Elliman, Corcoran, Sotheby's, Compass, BHS, Serhant., Warburg, and Stribling typically layers additional internal review on top. The compliant pattern is the two-part REBNY disclosure plus Plotpane's XMP metadata as the persistent record. Always verify the current UCBA version — rules evolve.
Pricing
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Pricing FAQ
Billing, quotas, and refunds.
Yes — one click in the Stripe billing portal from your dashboard. Billing stops immediately and any remaining credits stay usable through the end of the billing period.
Starter and Pro renders refresh at the start of each billing cycle and do not roll over. Agency renders roll over up to 3× your monthly cap, so a slow month isn't wasted.
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No free trial. Instead, every plan carries a 14-day no-questions refund — if your first render isn't MLS-ready, we refund it. We chose a hard paywall over a throttled free tier so every plan gets full 4K output and every tool from day one.
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No. Midjourney and DALL-E invent scenes from text prompts — beautiful for art, disqualifying for a listing. Plotpane is a structure-preserving pipeline: your room geometry, windows, and floor plan stay exact. We stage, re-light, swap skies, declutter, and 4K-enhance your actual photo. No hallucinated architecture, no invented rooms.
BoxBrownie and Styldod are human-edit services: you upload, a retoucher works overnight, you get a result in 24–48 hours at $2–$32 per image per treatment. Plotpane runs the full listing pipeline — staging, dusk, sky, clutter, enhancement — in one upload, in ~90 seconds, for a flat monthly subscription. Same 4K quality, no queue, no per-image fees.
Yes, when disclosed. NAR guidelines, California AB 723, and REBNY Rule 3.3 all allow virtually staged photos provided the listing discloses them. Every Plotpane export embeds invisible XMP disclosure metadata so the staging record travels with the file. You still handle the listing-remarks disclosure in your MLS portal — that's the part only you can do.
Not on staging or enhancement — our Fidelity Contract enforces structure-preserving masks that lock architecture, windows, and floor plan before any generation runs. Furniture is added to empty rooms; clutter is removed from furnished rooms; lighting and sky are re-graded. Renovation features (new flooring, wall colors) require you to explicitly mark the surface. We never reinvent what's already there.
Yes — one click in the Stripe billing portal from your dashboard. Billing stops immediately, remaining credits stay usable through the end of the billing period, and there's no cancellation fee.
Yes — any AI-generated or AI-modified image is considered an edit requiring disclosure under NAR's standards. That's why every Plotpane export writes invisible XMP disclosure metadata by default. The flag is machine-readable by MLS tooling and survives Lightroom round-trips. You still add the disclosure line to your listing remarks; we make sure the image itself is self-describing.
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Yes. All plans include a commercial-use license for the agent, brokerage, or photography business on the account. Agency plan adds 5 team seats and a white-label delivery ZIP so you can hand enhanced photos to clients under your own studio brand. Full licensing terms in /legal/terms.
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