For many, the dream of an affordable dream apartment in the city turns into a nightmare. The culprits are **AI apps** that virtually spruce up empty or dilapidated properties, misleading prospective tenants. This 'virtual staging' is like a deepfake for real estate listings.
This practice is a **scam** in the rental market that destroys trust in online listings. For tenants, it means wasted time, unnecessary travel, and great frustration. It is a clear example of how AI technology is misused to gain unfair advantages and deceive people. If we are not careful, such **AI lies** will soon become the norm.
The US magazine The Verge reports on cases like Joyce, who was looking for an apartment in New York. She found a supposed gem online, which turned out to be a 'hole' during the viewing. **AI tools** digitally fill empty rooms with stylish furniture, improve lighting conditions, and conceal defects. The effect: a perfect apartment online, an empty shell in reality. These apps use generative AI to **manipulate images** that end up on major apartment portals.
For you as a tenant, this means: You must **critically question every apartment image**. The perfect furnishings, the radiant light – all of it could come from an AI. You waste time and money on viewings, only to be disappointed that reality does not match the online pictures. Your expectations are deliberately manipulated before you even set foot in the door.
Real estate agents and landlords use these **AI tools** to make their properties appear more attractive and rent them out faster. This supposedly saves costs for real 'home staging'. However, in the long run, it harms the industry because customer trust dwindles. Companies risk their reputation if they rely on such **misleading practices** without creating transparency. Competitive pressure could lead many agents to follow suit, even if it is ethically questionable.
The technology itself actually offers great opportunities, for example, to visualize **real furnishing options** or to show renovation potential. If AI images were clearly labeled as such, they could help tenants better imagine the possibilities of a space. It's not about the technology, but about its **responsible use**.
The biggest risk is the **loss of trust**. Tenants might completely avoid online listings if they fear being constantly deceived. Moreover, there are hardly any legal frameworks regulating the use of such **AI-generated images**. This opens the door to further misuse and makes it difficult to take action against such practices.
