MLS Photo Requirements in Ontario: What Every Listing Needs

‍For real estate agents in Ottawa and across Ontario, listing photos are more than marketing — they're often the first, and sometimes only, chance to earn a buyer's click. But since December 2024, the rules governing what those photos can show have changed in ways that catch a lot of agents off guard. PropTx, the technology arm behind Ontario's MLS system, rolled out updated MLS rules that specifically target virtual staging, image content, and how listing descriptions can be used. If you haven't reviewed your workflow since the update, here's what every Ottawa-area listing needs to stay compliant — and where the old rules of thumb no longer apply.

The New PropTx Rules Every Ontario Agent Should Know

On December 2, 2024, PropTx implemented a revised set of MLS rules that Ontario realtors are required to follow for any listing uploaded to the system. The update runs 27 pages and touches everything from remuneration disclosure to lockbox logging, but the section most relevant to photography is the one governing image content. Under the new rules, listing photos must accurately represent the property as it actually exists. That means no structural alterations, no digitally inserted features, and no visual content that would give a buyer a false impression of the space. It also means photos can't include people or personal items, and — this is the one that trips up a lot of agents — no branding, watermarks, or contact information embedded in the image itself.

AI Virtual Staging Is No Longer Allowed on MLS Photos

The most talked-about change is around AI-generated virtual staging. Article 5.01 of the PropTx MLS Rules — the system OREB moved onto in late 2024 — prohibits digitally altered images, including AI-created or AI-enhanced staging, that don't accurately depict the property as it actually exists. In practice, that covers inserting furniture that isn't there, reconstructing room layouts, altering finishes or lighting with AI tools, or generating synthetic views that don't match the real space.

That doesn't mean a staged photo has to disappear from your MLS listing altogether. The straightforward way to keep a virtually staged image from being considered misleading is to post the original, unstaged photo of that same room right alongside it, so buyers can clearly see what's staged versus what's actually there. Text overlays and watermarks generally aren't permitted on MLS photos in the first place, so pairing the original photo — not stamping the image — is the practical way to disclose it. Outside the MLS system, on your own website, social media, or email marketing, staged images can be used freely without pairing.

What Your Listing Description Can (and Can't) Say

The rules also tightened up what's allowed in text fields. Public-facing remarks — the description buyers and their agents see on the listing — can't include promotional language, self-promotion, or contact details. Those remarks need to stick to the property itself: its features, condition, and relevant details for buyers. If you want to include contact information or additional notes for cooperating agents, that belongs in the broker remarks field, which isn't visible to the public. Mixing the two up is one of the more common compliance slips agents make.

Technical Standards That Still Apply

Alongside the content rules, the baseline technical standards haven't gone anywhere. Photos should be landscape orientation, properly exposed with no blown-out windows or dark rooms, and delivered at a resolution well above the MLS minimum — 2048 x 1536 is a safe target that clears every board's requirements with room to spare. Watermarks of any kind, including a photographer's logo, aren't permitted on the image itself. If a vendor is delivering photos with a stamped logo in the corner, that's a compliance issue waiting to surface on your next listing audit.

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Building a Compliant Listing Package from Day One

The safest approach is to build your MLS-ready package around true-to-life photos, and whenever a room is virtually staged, post the unstaged version of that same shot right alongside it on the listing. Save staged-only images, without the pairing, for marketing outside the MLS — your website, social channels, email campaigns — where that requirement doesn't apply. Enhancements like blue sky replacement and twilight conversions are a different category entirely: they adjust lighting and sky conditions rather than fabricating rooms or furniture, so they don't run into this restriction. Floorplans are unaffected too, since they're a factual representation of layout rather than a photo. Getting this structure right from the first shoot saves a lot of back-and-forth later.

It's also worth remembering that a dedicated single-property listing website sits outside the MLS system entirely, so none of these pairing or disclosure rules apply there. It's a natural home for every staged, twilight, and full-resolution image, without restriction.

Every interior shoot we do at NewGlimpse already builds this structure in: blue sky replacement and a twilight exterior shot for your MLS-ready package, a complimentary floorplan so you can pair it correctly on MLS or use it freely elsewhere, and a free single-property listing website for every listing — a space that isn't bound by MLS rules at all, where the full staged and enhanced gallery can live without restriction. You get a listing that's fully compliant on MLS and still looks its best everywhere else. Take a look at what's included in each package at newglimpse.ca/services-content, or book your next Ottawa-area shoot directly through our order page.