Letting agent apologises after posting AI images of apartments without disclaimer

A LETTING AGENT connected to property group DNG has apologised after it used artificial intelligence to alter photos on a number of its apartment listings.

Under rules set by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), AI in ads is permitted as long as this is clearly stated, and the real images are available “in proximity”.

The Journal previously reported on property listings showing ‘before and after’ photos, one real and one edited, which agents said was to show a home’s potential. The ASA said at the time that these were not likely to mislead, as the images were shown together.

After The Journal contacted DNG, it instructed the letting agent, DNG O’Connor Finn, to add the real photos and a disclaimer about AI use to the listings, which were posted on Daft.ie and the agent’s own website.

Daft.ie

Daft.ie

This Cork city centre listing shows two photos of the living room. The lighting and views from the windows are different in each. The furniture and artwork also look different in the second photo. 

Daft.ie

Daft.ie

Another listing shows two photos of a kitchen. The first is a white, modern, seemingly flawless kitchen. The second, which was added after DNG was contacted by The Journal, shows the reality: half-painted cabinets, different flooring and much dimmer lighting.

The agent has now also added a disclaimer to the description, saying that while AI may be used, “the underlying property and its permanent features remain as photographed”.

Daft.ie

Daft.ie

Another listing had a photo of a bedroom with a modern wooden floor. A second photo has since been added, showing a different floor. The curtains, radiator and mattress size were also altered in the AI image.

In every case, the real photo has been put much later in the carousel of images attached to the listing.

A number of Reddit users took to the platform to call out the practice, with one person saying it’s “depressing”.

“They can put in the bare minimum, lie through their teeth and charge whatever they want because they know people are desperate,” they said.

Another post said: “In this rental market, what is the point of upscaling the photos using AI? People will line up to try and rent a place like this.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for DNG said the edits were “intended solely to improve the presentation and visual quality of the photographs and were not used to alter or misrepresent the size, layout, condition or material features of a property”.

They said DNG is new to AI, and it’s issued a reminder to all its agents to ensure that they comply with the rules and amend any current adverts that deviate from them.

It also said it is also going to review all ads across its network.

Rory Hearne, the Social Democrats’ housing spokesperson, told The Journal that it’s “distasteful” for agents to publish “false images”.

This is a sad indictment on the current state of the housing crisis and AI regulation.

“It’s just wrong that estate agents are using digital staging, which could be prone to any number of errors and will undoubtedly misrepresent the property, rather than showing what the property is actually like in reality,” said Hearne.

“Even if the image retains the exact dimensions of the property in the picture, the AI may brighten the picture and misrepresent the light in the space, impose changes that are structurally not possible in the space, or make changes that would require planning permission.”

Property listings website Daft.ie has been contacted for comment. Journal Media Ltd has shareholders in common with Daft.ie.