Requires timely public advertising or marketing of listed residential properties on platforms accessible to the general public; permits non-public marketing only where the seller gives informed, written direction after receiving a standardized state disclosure that clearly explains the risks and tradeoffs of withholding a listing from public marketing.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10679--A
IN ASSEMBLY
March 20, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES, STECK, RAJKUMAR, FALL, POWERS -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to access to fair and
transparent real estate listings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "Fair and Transparent Real Estate Listings Act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that open
4 and transparent access to residential real estate listings is essential
5 to fair housing opportunity, market competition, and accurate price
6 discovery. The legislature further finds that practices that keep for-
7 sale homes off broadly accessible public platforms, including use of
8 private listing networks or similar restricted-access systems, can limit
9 the ability of buyers and their agents to identify and compete for
10 available homes, reduce the pool of potential offers to sellers and risk
11 lower sale proceeds, and exacerbate segregation and inequities by making
12 some homes effectively invisible to certain buyers.
13 It is therefore the intent of the legislature to require timely public
14 advertising or marketing of listed residential properties on platforms
15 accessible to the general public and to real estate licensees represent-
16 ing prospective buyers, and permit non-public marketing only where the
17 seller gives informed, written direction after receiving a standardized
18 state disclosure that clearly explains the risks and tradeoffs of with-
19 holding a listing from public marketing.
20 § 3. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 443-b to
21 read as follows:
22 § 443-b. Marketing. 1. For purposes of this section:
23 (a) The terms "buyer", "listing agent", "listing agreement", "residen-
24 tial real property", "seller", "landlord" and "tenant" shall have the
25 same meanings as such terms are defined in section four hundred forty-
26 three of this article.
27 (b) "Department" means the New York department of state.
28 (c) "Publicly advertise or market" means to advertise, list, or other-
29 wise make information about a property available for sale or lease on at
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15186-04-6
A. 10679--A 2
1 least one other publication, platform, or website that does not require
2 payment and/or require a consumer to work with the listing brokerage to
3 get access to view the property information on such platform or website,
4 and is broadly accessible to the general public and to any duly licensed
5 real estate broker or real estate salesperson representing prospective
6 buyers, without limitation to a particular brokerage, franchise, or
7 select group of licensees.
8 (d) "Private or limited access channels" means systems to advertise,
9 list, or otherwise make information about a property available for sale
10 or lease.
11 (e) "Licensee" means a person duly licensed under section four hundred
12 forty-a of this article.
13 (f) "Multiple listing service" means a database that cooperating
14 licensees use and maintain to share information about residential prop-
15 erty listings.
16 2. A listing agent representing a seller or landlord of residential
17 real property shall:
18 (a) share information on the property with any licensees representing
19 prospective buyers and tenants;
20 (b) respond to inquiries from any licensees representing prospective
21 buyers or tenants;
22 (c) make the property available for showing to prospective buyers or
23 tenants;
24 (d) publicly advertise or market the seller or landlord's property for
25 sale or lease, at a minimum, on one or more multiple listing services
26 for distribution and display on the multiple listing service partic-
27 ipants' websites or on one or more internet platforms or websites that
28 are:
29 (i) accessible to the general public and licensees representing
30 prospective buyers or tenants; and
31 (ii) do not require payment and/or require a consumer to work with the
32 listing brokerage to get access to the property information, unless the
33 seller or landlord, prior to or at the time of entering into the listing
34 agreement, completes and signs a disclosure and opt-out form as
35 proscribed by the department and set forth in subdivision five of this
36 section;
37 (e) concurrently and publicly advertise or market properties listed on
38 private or limited access channels to promote transparency and ensure
39 open and nondiscriminitory access to property information for all
40 prospective buyers or tenants, unless the seller or landlord, prior to
41 or at the time of entering into the listing agreement, completes and
42 signs a disclosure and opt-out form as proscribed by the department and
43 set forth in subdivision five of this section; and
44 (f) maintain a copy of the signed form set forth in subdivision five
45 of this section for not less than three years and make such documenta-
46 tion available to the department of state upon request.
47 3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a seller or
48 landlord to hold open houses or to permit showings to any person in
49 violation of the seller or landlord's rights under state and federal
50 law, including laws relating to health, safety, and security.
51 4. It shall be affirmative defense to any claim of a violation of this
52 section, that the licensee acted in good faith in fulfilling any duties
53 under subdivision two of this section, unless the licensee made a false,
54 deceptive, or misleading representation.
55 5. (a) Where a seller or lessor of residential real property directs a
56 listing agent to not publicly advertise or market the listed property as
A. 10679--A 3
1 required by subdivision two of this section, the listing agent shall
2 provide the following disclosure and opt-out form to the seller and
3 shall obtain the seller's signature on such form:
4 NEW YORK STATE DISCLOSURE FORM FOR SELLER OR LANDLORD
5 OPT-OUT OF PUBLIC MARKETING
6 THIS IS NOT A CONTRACT
7 New York state law requires real estate licensees acting as agents of
8 sellers or landlords of property to advise the sellers or landlords with
9 whom they work of the nature of availability and visibility of real
10 estate property listings made available for sale or lease. This disclo-
11 sure will help you to make informed choices about how the property list-
12 ing may be advertised or marketed to the general public and to real
13 estate licensees representing potential buyers or tenants. You will not
14 be bound to pay the agent or the agent's brokerage by merely signing
15 this form.
16 By signing this form, you are expressly requesting that the seller's
17 or landlord's agent not publicly advertise or market your property for
18 sale or lease as required by law, and instead to market the property
19 only on a restricted basis as described below. Before making this
20 choice, you should carefully review each of the statements that follows
21 to confirm that you understand the potential consequences of withholding
22 your property from public marketing.
23 1. REDUCED VISIBILITY TO BUYERS OR TENANTS.
24 I understand that real estate licensees representing prospective buyers
25 or tenants may not be aware that my property is available for sale or
26 lease, and that potential buyers tenants who are not connected to my
27 listing agent or their brokerage may never see my listing.
28 2. LIMITED ONLINE EXPOSURE.
29 I understand that my property shall not be marketed or distributed
30 outside the real estate brokerage that the listing agent is associated
31 with through mass-marketing channels, including but not limited to elec-
32 tronic mail blasts, bulk email distributions, listservs, newsletters,
33 syndicated feeds, or widely circulated print publications.
34 3. FEWER OFFERS AND POSSIBLE IMPACT ON PRICE AND TIMING.
35 I understand that reducing the exposure of my property may reduce the
36 number of offers I receive from buyers and tenants, and could negatively
37 impact my ability to sell or lease the property sooner, with better
38 terms and at a higher price.
39 4. RESTRICTED MARKETING CHANNELS.
40 I understand that the property shall not be advertised, displayed, or
41 distributed on any publicly accessible internet platforms, websites, or
42 digital services used by members of the general public to search for
43 real estate listings, including but not limited to real estate listing
44 websites, multiple listing service websites, online marketplaces, social
45 media platforms, or websites that promote or market real estate listings
46 to a broad or unrestricted audience.
A. 10679--A 4
1 5. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.
2 I understand that any marketing of the property must not discriminate
3 against any protected classes identified in federal, state or local
4 laws.
5 This form was provided to me by ____ (print name of licensee) of ___
6 (print name of company, firm or brokerage)
7 Property Address for real estate to be listed for sale or lease:
8 ________________________________________
9 Seller(s) or landlord(s) Signature: ____ Date: ____
10 Seller(s) or landlord(s) Signature: ____ Date: ____
11 Seller(s) or landlord(s) Printed Name: ________________________
12 Seller(s) or landlord(s) Printed Name: ________________________
13 (b) The department of state is authorized and directed to:
14 (i) issue such rules and regulations as are necessary to implement the
15 requirements of subdivision two of this section; and
16 (ii) make the standardized disclosure and opt-out form publicly avail-
17 able on the department's website.
18 (c) A listing agent shall not alter or omit any required disclosure
19 language in the standardized form, and any additional language added by
20 a listing agent shall not be misleading or inconsistent with the purpose
21 of this subdivision.
22 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 441-c of the real prop-
23 erty law, as amended by chapter 529 of the laws of 2022, is amended to
24 read as follows:
25 (a) The department of state may revoke the license of a real estate
26 broker or salesperson or suspend the same, for such period as the
27 department may deem proper, or in lieu thereof may impose a fine not
28 exceeding [two] five thousand dollars payable to the department of
29 state, provided that fifty percent of all moneys received by the depart-
30 ment of state for such fines shall be payable to the anti-discrimination
31 in housing fund established pursuant to section eighty-a of the state
32 finance law, or a reprimand upon conviction of the licensee of a
33 violation of any provision of this article, or for a violation of subdi-
34 vision four of section four hundred forty-two-h of this article, or for
35 a material misstatement in the application for such license, or if such
36 licensee has been guilty of fraud or fraudulent practices, or for
37 dishonest or misleading advertising, or has demonstrated untrustworthi-
38 ness or incompetency to act as a real estate broker or salesperson, or
39 for a violation of article fifteen of the executive law committed in
40 their capacity as a real estate broker or salesperson, as the case may
41 be. In the case of a real estate broker engaged in the business of a
42 tenant relocator, untrustworthiness or incompetency shall include engag-
43 ing in any course of conduct including, but not limited to, the inter-
44 ruption or discontinuance of essential building service, that interferes
45 with or disturbs the peace, comfort, repose and quiet enjoyment of a
46 tenant.
47 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
48 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
49 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
50 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
51 completed on or before such effective date.
