TL;DR
Zillow’s Listing Access Standards (LAS) have resulted in 48 permanently banned listings — roughly 90% of which belong to Compass. The main trigger: publicly marketing a home for more than 24 hours before entering it on the MLS. Agents who hit three strikes lose their listing from Zillow and Trulia for the life of the contract. A federal judge rejected Compass’ legal challenge and upheld LAS in February 2026. Here’s what every agent needs to know to stay compliant.
Key Takeaways
- 43 out of 48 total banned listings belonged to Compass, making this as much a story about brokerage strategy as platform policy.
- The #1 violation (65% of bans): Posting an address, price, or “Coming Soon” teaser on Instagram or Facebook more than 24 hours before MLS entry.
- Zillow’s Listing Access Standards define “public marketing” broadly — it includes yard signs, social media posts, and brokerage “Private Exclusive” pages indexed by Google.
- Zillow uses a three-strike system: Two warnings, then a permanent block for the duration of the listing agreement.
- A federal court ruled in Zillow’s favor on February 6, 2026, upholding the platform’s right to enforce its Listing Access Standards.
- The fix is simple: Don’t share identifying listing details (address, price) publicly until you’re ready to go live on the MLS within 24 hours.
What are Zillow’s Listing Access Standards?
Zillow’s Listing Access Standards, or LAS, is a platform policy requiring any publicly marketed home to be submitted to the MLS within one business day. Introduced in April 2025, LAS is built on a simple idea: all buyers should see all homes at the same time. No brokerage network should get a head start.
Under LAS, “public marketing” has a broad definition. Zillow states:
Public marketing includes social media posts that name a property’s address or price, yard signs, and brokerage web pages — even those behind a login — if search engines can index them.
If an agent markets a listing without entering it on the MLS within 24 hours, they are in violation and subject to Zillow’s three-strike system. LAS also lines up with the NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy, which has the same one-business-day rule. Read our blog post about the CCP here.
Background: Why Zillow introduced LAS
Zillow built LAS to fight shadow inventory — homes quietly shown to select buyers before they hit the open market. This hurts buyers who don’t have a connection to the listing brokerage. It also limits a seller’s exposure by keeping the home off the biggest search platforms during the key early window.
Zillow sent more than 1,200 violation notices to 24 different brokerages. The 43 permanently banned listings reflect the most serious outcome: complete removal from Zillow and Trulia for the life of the listing contract.
Why listings get banned: the full breakdown
| Violation Category | % of Bans | The Specific Action | Zillow’s Penalty |
| Premature social marketing | ~65% | Posting address, price, or “Coming Soon” Teaser on Instagram/Facebook before MLS entry | Permanent Block on Zillow/Trulia for the life of the listing. |
| “Private exclusive” webpages | ~25% | Marketing on a brokerage site (even behind a login) without syndicating to the MLS within one business day. | Strike logged against the agent; listing removed immediately |
| Public signage errors | ~10% | Placing a “For Sale” or “Coming Soon” yard sign before the listing is live on the MLS. | Listing hidden from search; visible only via direct link. |
| Data mismatch / disclosures | <5% | Major discrepancies between MLS data and Zillow input, or missing disclosures. | Warning issued; failure to correct leads to removal. |
How the three-strike system works
Zillow tracks compliance at the agent level, not just the listing level. Here’s how it escalates:
Strikes 1 & 2: You get an automated warning by email. The non-compliant listing is hidden until you fix it.
Strike 3: Permanent ban. The listing is blocked from Zillow and Trulia for the rest of the listing agreement. To get back on the platform, the seller would usually need to cancel and re-list with a new agent or brokerage.
Safe vs. unsafe social media posts
Zillow draws a clear line between posts that are compliant and those that trigger the 24-hour clock. Per their official guidance, these are examples of unsafe social media posts:
A post about 123 Main Street with a link to a brokerage site with the listing details gated behind a customer log-in.
A post showing the address and price (“123 Main Street, $500,000”) with a call-to-action like ‘DM me for details.
On the other hand, this kind of marketing is safe under the LAS:
Posting a sneak peek of a listing on social media or in an email newsletter to buyers as long as it doesn’t include details that could approximate a listing, like price and address, and doesn’t include a call to action – like an invitation to tour the home or a callout to receive the link to the listing via a direct message.
The difference: the first examples contain identifying details (address, price), which make a post “public marketing.” The second example remains vague and doesn’t trigger the 24-hour countdown.
Zillow vs. Compass: A timeline of the conflict
According to Quartz, the concentration of bans within one brokerage isn’t a coincidence — it comes down to a clash of business models.
Compass’ approach: “Private Exclusives” — keeping listings inside Compass’ own network before going to the MLS. This gives sellers privacy and gives Compass agents a first look with their buyer clients.
Zillow’s approach: “One Market” — all publicly marketed homes must go on the MLS at the same time, so every buyer has an equal shot.
April 2025: Zillow announces Listing Access Standards, narrowing what qualifies as an off-market listing.
June 2025: Compass files an antitrust lawsuit, claiming Zillow is abusing its market power to force listings onto the MLS.
February 6, 2026: A federal judge rejects Compass’ request to block the policy. The court rules that Clear Cooperation serves buyers and that Zillow has the right to set its own platform rules.
Compliance checklist for agents
The following checklist again draws directly from Zillow’s official compliance guidance:
- Hold off on posting details. Don’t share an address, price, or photo on social media until you’re ready to go live on the MLS within 24 hours.”
- Use your MLS’ “Coming Soon” status. Zillow accepts this as compliant — and it’s the best way to build early buzz.
- Check your digital footprint. Make sure your brokerage’s Private Exclusive pages aren’t being picked up by Google before MLS entry.
- Keep social posts vague. Mention a neighborhood, not an address. Build excitement without starting the 24-hour clock.
- Verify your Zillow data matches the MLS. Mismatches in price, square footage, or missing disclosures can get a listing pulled even with no marketing violation.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What are Zillow’s Listing Access Standards?
LAS requires any publicly marketed home to be on the MLS within one business day. The goal: equal access for all buyers at the same time, with no quiet deals for a select few.
What counts as “public marketing” under Zillow’s Listing Access Standards?
Any post, sign, or web page that names the address or price counts as public marketing — even if the page is behind a login, as long as search engines can find it.
Why were so many of the banned listings from Compass?
Compass’ Private Exclusives model markets homes inside its own agent network before going to the MLS — a strategy that put it on a direct collision course with Zillow’s one-market rule, which Compass challenged all the way to federal court.
Notably, Compass wasn’t the only brokerage to receive bans: Howard Hanna, which operates a similar private listing network, was also affected. The pattern makes clear that Zillow’s policy targets a business practice — not a specific company.
What happens if an agent gets three Zillow violations?
After two warnings, a third strike means a permanent block from Zillow and Trulia for the rest of the listing agreement. The seller would usually need to cancel and re-list with a new agent to get back on the platform.
Can a listing banned from Zillow ever be reinstated?
Only if the listing agreement ends and the home is re-listed, typically with a different agent or brokerage.
Did Compass’ lawsuit against Zillow’s Listing Access Standards succeed?
No. On February 6, 2026, a federal judge rejected Compass’ request to block Zillow’s LAS policy. The court ruled the policy serves buyers and that Zillow has the right to set its own platform rules.
What’s the safest way to build pre-listing buzz without risking a ban?
Keep social posts vague — mention a neighborhood, not an address. Then use your MLS’ official Coming Soon status for anything that includes the address or price.
Does Zillow’s Listing Access Standards policy affect all brokerages, or just Compass?
LAS applies to every brokerage that syndicates listings to Zillow. That being said, the data shows Compass made up about 90% of the permanently banned listings because of its Private Exclusives model.
Have a question we didn’t answer? Drop it in the comments below.
Resources for agents
- 1) Zillow Listing Access Standards: Official hub for Zillow’s “one-market” policy.
- 2) NAR Clear Cooperation Policy: The foundational rules MLS entry rules.
- 3) Court Ruling Summary (Feb 2026): A breakdown of the judge’s decision in Compass v. Zillow.
- 4) Industry Analysis by Mike DelPrete: Zillow’s LAS ban and violation metrics
- 5) Quartz by Deborah Kearns: “The war over home listings that could change how you buy and sell forever.”
