The Rules Roundup provides a monthly accounting of RMLS rules violations and courtesy notifications. Our Data Accuracy team manages all reports of property listing errors, tracking 34 specific issues outlined in the RMLS Rules and Regulations, and is responsible for addressing subscriber questions and concerns regarding listing accuracy.
HIGHLIGHTS
Personal promotion is consistently one of our top violations, and a good many of them result from virtual tours. While virtual tours are an excellent tool to give buyers a feel for a home and to help them decide if they want to see it in person, there are rules which govern these tours.
- People (including yourself) are not permitted to be in photos or virtual tours.
- Virtual tours must be free of any branding.
- They cannot have any contact or identifying information.
- Virtual tours must be free of links.
- Voiceovers are prohibited.
- Virtual tours cannot contain copyrighted material.
If any of these violations are found in a virtual tour, the tour will be removed from your listing, and you will be asked to upload a new tour that is free of violations.
FORMAL VIOLATIONS
The RMLS Rules and Regulations Committee reviews all formal complaints which allege a violation of the RMLS Rules and Regulations. The committee has the power to impose sanctions.
The committee did not review a case in July 2023.
INFORMAL VIOLATIONS
Personal Promotion violations saw a sharp decline in July after continuing to rise since December of 2022. The 131 July violations are a 38% drop from the previous month.
The chart below shows the next three most frequent informal violations from July 2023. After dipping into third place in June, Missing Owner Name violation saw a steep jump up back into second place over has Missing Tax ID violations.
This pie chart shows the remainder of the informal violations last month.
Data Accuracy Department Statistics
- Listings Reviewed: 24,503 (-2,989)
- Notices Sent: 2,202 (-133)
- Violation Notices Received: 359 (+8)
- Courtesy Notices Sent: 1,432 (+142)
- Phone Calls Received: 355 (+25)
How to Report Violations
Subscribers have multiple options to report violations, including a Report Issue button on every RMLSweb listing. Subscribers can email our Data Accuracy team at dataaccuracy@rmls.com or call them at 503.395.1916. When there are increases in specific violation types, we sometimes place notifications on RMLSweb.