I'm listing a rental in New York City. How do I list with Apartments.com?
As of February 2019, we changed our policy in regards to advertising rentals in New York City.
Here you'll find some common questions and answers about our new policy.
1. What does Apartments.com consider to be an exclusive or co-exclusive?
An exclusive, or co-exclusive, is a written agreement between the property owner, manager or entity operating the rental and an agent. An ‘agent’ is defined as a licensed salesperson or real estate professional. There should only be one contract per agent/brokerage per location, unless it’s a co-exclusive with another brokerage, in which all parties need to be specified in the terms of the contract.
2. What must the exclusive or co-exclusive include?
When the exclusive is submitted for review, it must contain the following:
- Full street address of the rental
- Date of the agreement
- Terms that clearly state exclusivity
- Brokerage/Agent representing the owner
- Signatures of all parties
- No apparent alterations of the document
- All brokerages involved in the agreement (co-exclusives)
3. Can one exclusive contract cover an entire building or do I need one for each unit advertised?
An exclusive agreement can be submitted for an entire building, allowing any agent in a brokerage to post listings for each unit, but a contract will need to be submitted every time you post a new listing. For expediency, we recommend brokers and agents use one of these feed providers: Bronx Manhattan North AOR, Elmira Corning Regional BOR, New York State MLS, REBNY, Buildium and Nestio.
4. Does the address of the listing have to match the address on the contract?
Yes, during the contract review, we must be able to confirm that the address on the listing matches the address on the contract. Furthermore, all addresses must be for a rental: not a nearby commercial, industrial, or recreational facility.
5. Can the owner call Apartments.com to confirm an exclusive agreement?
No, verbal confirmation or a handshake between a property owner/manager and an agent will not be permitted. We need written proof of an exclusive, unless it’s the owner submitting the listing.
6. I’m a property management company, not an agent or brokerage. Do I have to email an exclusive agreement to Apartments.com?
Whether you’re an agent, broker, or property manager, we will need proof of exclusivity if the rental is located in any of the four boroughs of New York City.
7. What is a faster way to list without having to forward a contract for each listing?
The quickest way to get a listing published without having to constantly submit a contract is to be setup on a data feed with one of the companies we recommend: Bronx Manhattan North AOR, Elmira Corning Regional BOR, New York State MLS, REBNY, Buildium and Nestio.
Additional information about getting set up on a data feed can be found at https://www.apartments.com/advertise/advfeeds.
8. Do I have to submit an exclusive agreement if I’m a relative of the owner?
An exclusive does not have to be submitted if you’re a relative of the property owner, but we will need the owner to call and verify ownership.
9. What regions of New York City are affected by this rule change?
Four boroughs of New York City will be affected by this policy:
- The Bronx
- Brooklyn
- Manhattan
- Queens
10. I’m not in NYC but I got a message saying I have to submit a rental agreement. Do I have to provide documentation of exclusivity if my rentals are not in New York City?
No, this policy is only for the Greater New York City region. If you’re located outside of that city or state, and have already been verified, we will approve the listing.
11. Why did you remove my NYC listings?
When the listing is submitted, you have 48 hours to turn in documentation showing you have the exclusive/co-exclusive. If you have that paperwork, please email a copy it to us at support@apartments.com. After being reviewed, we will activate the rejected listing if the documentation meets our criteria.
12. I'm an agent. Why was my 5+ unit listing rejected?
Any listing found to be over 5 units will be rejected unless the person who created the listing is the owner or property manager. Only owners and property managers can request access to a community listing over 5 units. Existing listings found to be over 5 units cannot be reactivated until the owner or property manager sends email correspondence to support@apartments.com.