Yes, with a clear and visible statement. OACIQ's advertising guideline says an ad that uses AI to add furniture, do virtual staging or change the lighting must carry a statement such as 'Image generated by artificial intelligence', and an image that fundamentally alters a property's real appearance breaks the rules.
The regulation behind it bans advertising that is false, misleading or incomplete or that leaves out a material fact, in French and in English.
Regulator: Organisme d'autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec · Association: Association professionnelle des courtiers immobiliers du Québec (APCIQ) · MLS / boards: Centris
Governing text: Real Estate Brokerage Act, CQLR c. C-73.2, s. 22 · Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising, ss. 5, 112
Quoted as written, with the source and the day we read it.
“Advertisements must include a clear and visible statement, such as: 'Image generated by artificial intelligence.'”
Advertising guideline, s. 6.3.1 Using artificial intelligence and other technological tools in advertising — OACIQ · read September 2, 2026
“Les publicités doivent comporter une mention claire et visible, telle que : « Image générée par l'intelligence artificielle ».”
Ligne directrice — Publicité, 6.3.1 — OACIQ (français) · read September 2, 2026
“Change the appearance of a property without touching the structure or making substantial changes (e.g., adding furniture, artificially creating a seasonal atmosphere, or adjusting the lighting) […] Carry out virtual staging or visual transformations […] Generate images that could alter the original version”
Advertising guideline, s. 6.3.1 — cases where the statement applies — OACIQ · read September 2, 2026
“Images that fundamentally alter the actual appearance of a property violate the regulations and laws in force.”
Advertising guideline, s. 6.3.1 — OACIQ · read September 2, 2026
“No licence holder or person promoting real estate brokerage services may in any manner make representations or engage in advertising that is false, misleading or incomplete or that leaves out a material fact.”
Regulation respecting brokerage requirements, professional conduct of brokers and advertising, CQLR c. C-73.2, r. 1, s. 112 — LégisQuébec · read September 2, 2026
“Si on fait apparaître une fenêtre qui n'existe pas et si on ajoute un étage, là, évidemment, on va beaucoup trop loin. (If you make a window appear that doesn't exist and you add a storey, then obviously you're going much too far.)”
OACIQ spokesperson Louis Beauchamp, quoted — Radio-Canada, 2026-08-02 · read September 2, 2026
The four things a listing has to get right.
| Disclosure to buyers | RequiredA clear and visible statement in the advertisement, such as 'Image generated by artificial intelligence', whenever AI adds furniture, stages a room, changes lighting or alters the original. Source |
|---|---|
| Label on the image | RecommendedThe guideline requires the statement in the ad and does not say where. Burning it into the image is the simplest way to keep it 'clear and visible' on Centris and everywhere the photo travels. Source |
| Unaltered original | No specific rule foundNo rule. Reported Centris practice is to place the original photo right after the enhanced one (APCIQ, La Presse, 2026-01-18). Source |
| Off-limits alterations | ProhibitedImages that fundamentally alter the actual appearance of a property; OACIQ names invented windows and added storeys. The regulation also bans leaving out a material fact. Source |
Plain words, consistent with the rule above. Sedam Staging writes the same line into the disclosure file that ships with every listing.
En français :
Public decisions and reports involving altered or virtually staged listing photos relevant to Quebec.
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 guideline gives 'Image generated by artificial intelligence' as its example of a clear and visible statement. Sedam Staging burns 'Virtually staged' into every listing image and writes the OACIQ wording into the remarks file for Quebec listings, so both appear.
Yes. OACIQ lists adding furniture, seasonal atmosphere and lighting changes as exactly the cases the statement is for. The line you cannot cross is changing the structure or the property's real appearance.
A façade photo gained windows, a fence and bushes and lost a door. The agency withdrew it and apologised publicly. It is the clearest Canadian example of the edit that is never allowed: changing the building itself.
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
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
The 2019 Act's advertising test and the Superintendent's Code
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 high (the OACIQ guideline was read in both languages along with the regulation; Centris publishes no broker photo rule). 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.