New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has renewed his call for greater transparency around AI-generated and AI-edited images used in apartment listings, saying renters should be able to tell whether the property shown online accurately reflects the real home.

In a post on X, Mamdani said his administration is working on rules that would require rental listings to clearly identify photos and videos that have been generated or modified using artificial intelligence.

“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.

He added that New Yorkers should know whether the apartment they are viewing online is real.

Proposed disclosure rules for AI-altered listings

Mamdani first proposed disclosure requirements for AI-modified real estate listings in July as part of a broader package of 23 tenant protection measures known as the Rental Ripoff Report.

Under the proposal, landlords, brokers and online rental platforms would have to disclose when photographs or videos in an apartment listing have been created or altered using AI or other digital tools.

The proposal followed testimony from more than 2,400 New York renters during hearings held across the city's five boroughs.

Mamdani said renters should not discover only after visiting a property that an online listing does not accurately represent the apartment. When introducing the proposal, he said prospective tenants should not have to question whether the apartment shown online is genuine.

AI-generated property photos raise concerns

Advances in image-generation tools have made it easier to create highly realistic photographs or significantly alter existing property images. That has raised concerns that prospective tenants could form inaccurate expectations about the size, condition or appearance of an apartment.

A Coraly analysis of roughly 40,000 listing photographs from Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and Homes.com found that nearly 11% showed signs of AI alteration, according to Fortune, as cited in the report.

New York's Department of State has also warned consumers about possible indicators of manipulated property images. These can include distorted objects, unusually blurry backgrounds and window views that do not correspond with the surrounding property.

The practice has been described as “housefishing”, referring to listings that make a property appear different from the home that renters or buyers eventually see.

Why AI disclosure matters for renters

The issue can be particularly relevant in New York's rental market, where some prospective tenants may have limited opportunities to inspect an apartment personally before signing a lease.

Justin Brookman, technology policy director at Consumer Reports, previously told Fortune that AI tools can now produce photorealistic images capable of substantially changing a person's expectations about a property.

For renters relocating from another city, an online listing may play a major role in deciding whether to pursue a particular apartment. Clear disclosure of digitally generated or altered images could therefore give prospective tenants additional information before arranging a viewing or signing a lease.

Mamdani's latest comments bring the proposed disclosure rules back into focus as New York considers how rental listings should identify AI-generated or digitally modified property images.