Yes. Newfoundland and Labrador names no rule for virtual staging, but its 2019 Act bans advertising that is false, inaccurate or reasonably capable of misleading, and the Superintendent's Code of Conduct bans knowingly making an inaccurate or misleading representation. Say the photo is staged and leave the property as it is.
The Superintendent can also order a licensee to stop circulating advertising believed to be false or misleading and to correct it.
Regulator: Superintendent of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons, Digital Government and Service NL · Association: Newfoundland and Labrador Association of REALTORS® (NLAR) · MLS / boards: NLAR province-wide MLS®
Governing text: Real Estate Trading Act, 2019, S.N.L. 2019, c. R-2.1, s. 33(3) · Real Estate Trading Regulations, NLR 66/20, s. 14(c) · Code of Conduct (Superintendent, 2021), cl. 8
Quoted as written, with the source and the day we read it.
“An advertisement shall not be (a) false; (b) inaccurate; (c) reasonably capable of misleading the recipient or intended recipient; (d) offensive or harmful to the best interests of the public; or (e) prohibited by law.”
Real Estate Trading Act, 2019, s. 33(3) — House of Assembly, Newfoundland and Labrador · read September 2, 2026
“In the course of business a licensee shall not knowingly make an inaccurate or misleading representation nor engage in or be a party to misrepresentation or any fraudulent or unethical practice.”
Code of Conduct, signed 2021-12-01, cl. 8 — Superintendent of Real Estate, Service NL · read September 2, 2026
“an order stopping the circulation of advertising materials that the superintendent believes to be false or misleading and requiring the licensee to correct the false or misleading advertising materials.”
Real Estate Trading Regulations, NLR 66/20, s. 14(c) — House of Assembly, Newfoundland and Labrador · read September 2, 2026
nlar.ca, the Service NL real-estate pages, the Act, the regulations and the Code of Conduct were read on September 2, 2026. None names virtual staging, altered photos or AI images, and NLAR publishes no MLS® rules.
The four things a listing has to get right.
| Disclosure to buyers | General rule appliesNot named. An undisclosed staged photo is 'reasonably capable of misleading' under s. 33(3)(c) and an inaccurate representation under Code cl. 8. Source |
|---|---|
| Label on the image | No specific rule foundNo rule found. |
| Unaltered original | No specific rule foundNo rule found. |
| Off-limits alterations | General rule appliesNothing itemised. Any edit that makes the advertisement false, inaccurate or capable of misleading breaches s. 33(3). Source |
Plain words, consistent with the rule above. Sedam Staging writes the same line into the disclosure file that ships with every listing.
Sedam Staging burns the “Virtually staged” label into every listing image, ships the untouched original beside it, compares every render against the photograph so walls, windows, floors and built-ins never move, and writes the remarks line into the download. See the renders we refused →
The Superintendent of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons at Service NL licenses and disciplines, and can order misleading advertising stopped and corrected. NLAR runs the MLS® and the REALTOR® Code.
Not if it says it is staged and the property itself is unchanged. It becomes inaccurate the moment a buyer would take the furniture, the finish or the view for the real thing.
The same four questions, answered from each regulator's own text. The national layer for Canada →
BCFSA's AI guideline, a $6,000 penalty, and a watermark catch in Vancouver
The clearest rule in Canada: staging allowed, disclosed in the remarks; 'virtual enhancing' banned
SREC's advertising bylaw and a members-only MLS® rulebook
The Real Estate Services Act's ban on deceptive ads, and an unsourced labelling claim
RECO, TRESA, and the PropTx MLS® image rule
OACIQ's AI-image statement and Centris
FCNB, the Real Estate Agents Act, and an unpublished MLS® rulebook
NSAR MLS® Rule 3.20 and NSREC By-law 759
An Act that only asks for the agent's name
An Act we could not read, a members-only rulebook, and the national rules
A licence can be pulled for publishing any misrepresentation about a trade
The same Act as the NWT, no board, and the national rules
Listing across the border? The rules in the United States, state by state.
How this page was made. Each quotation was read at the linked source on September 2, 2026; our confidence that it is current and complete is medium (high on the statute, regulations and code, all read from the primary text; low on MLS® practice, which NLAR does not publish). Rules change and boards add policies; the linked documents are the authority, and this is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Spotted a change? Tell us and we will fix the page.