Key facts
- Trading Standards told the BBC that agents must indicate AI use and that structural changes or hidden features could mislead consumers and break the law.
- One in five UK homebuyers who bought in the past year said they had viewed a property whose listing photos were digitally enhanced, per a survey of 906 buyers.
- Rightmove, Zoopla and Winkworth told the BBC they have strict AI guidelines and have taken down the images Olivia Nicole saw.
- Howards told the BBC it now labels all AI-enhanced photos and said it never uses AI to misrepresent a property's fundamental features.
- Jack Bushrod, who reviews listings on his Housing Horrors channel, said he has seen a surge of AI-enhanced images over the last six months, most not clearly labelled.
UK estate agents are increasingly using AI to alter property listing photos, from repainted walls to imaginary lawns, and the practice has been dubbed housefishing. Trading Standards told the BBC on November 13, 2026 that agents may use the technology for basic enhancements or to virtually furnish an empty room or garden as long as they indicate they have done so, but that structurally changing a room, for example by adding a window, or hiding features could mislead consumers and break the law.
Olivia Nicole, 29, was searching for five-bedroom properties in south-west London earlier this year when a house on Rightmove caught her eye. When she viewed it several days later, she thought she had come to the wrong place. "The rooms were much smaller than they were in the pictures and the decor was totally different," she told the BBC, adding that some structural features differed, including a raised section of wall behind the sofa and smaller windows. The images, which also appeared on Zoopla and Winkworth, turned out to have been enhanced with AI, which was not clear in the listing, she said. All three companies told the BBC they have strict guidelines on AI use and have since taken the images down.
The Guild of Property Professionals, a trade group of independent estate agents, said it is difficult to quantify how common the practice is but that it has issued guidance on responsible AI enhancement. According to a recent survey of 906 UK homebuyers, one in five who had purchased a home in the past year said they had viewed a property where the listing photos had been digitally enhanced to make the home appear better than it was.