Virtual staging on Rightmove: what the rules actually say
Rightmove is where UK buyers look first: by its own reporting, 89% of the time Britons spend on property portals is spent there. Since the January 2026 edition of its technical guidelines it also has one of the clearest AI-image policies of any major portal: enhanced images are allowed, but only labelled and paired with current photos. This guide covers the photo specs, the exact rules, and how Twelve Lumens exports meet them, as of our August 2026 check.
Rightmove photo requirements
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 for uploaded photos |
| Display size | Images are displayed at up to 1,024 px on the long edge (landscape tops out at 1024 × 683); larger uploads are resized automatically |
| File size | Up to 20 MB per image via the data feed |
| Media per listing | Up to 999 photos, floorplans and other media items per property via the data feed |
| Formats and minimum resolution | Not published for standard UK uploads as of our August 2026 check; a sharp 3:2 JPEG comfortably above the 1,024 px display size is a safe target |
| Watermarks | Allowed on no more than 25% of the image, at a maximum of 30% opacity |
Checked in August 2026 against Rightmove's Agent and Developer Technical Guidelines and its Real Time Datafeed specification. Note that Rightmove carries listings from member agents only; there is no private listing route. Specs can change, so confirm anything critical with your Rightmove account contact.
What Rightmove says about staged and AI-edited images
Rightmove's Agent and Developer Technical Guidelines (January 2026 edition, paragraph 10) draw a clean line between two kinds of editing. Light Touch Edits, such as cropping, brightness and contrast, and colour balance, are fine without any disclosure. Enhanced Edits cover AI-generated or manipulated images, CGI, adding or removing objects, and changed architectural features. Enhanced Edits are explicitly permitted, on two conditions: they must be clearly labelled as AI-generated or otherwise enhanced, and they must be accompanied by current, accurate images of the same room or property. And nothing may misrepresent what is actually for sale.
The image carousel has rules of its own: only images of the advertised property, no text in images, and no borders, banners or composite images. In practice, keep any in-image text to the disclosure label the guidelines themselves require on an Enhanced Edit. Watermarks are capped at 25% of the image at 30% opacity. Rightmove also commits to the standards of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, the same legal baseline your agency already works to: a staged image that hides a defect or invents a feature is a problem under the CPRs long before it is a portal issue.
A disclosure line you can copy
Virtually staged with AI. A current, unedited photo of this room is included in this listing.
Use it in the image itself and anywhere the staged photo appears on its own. Rightmove's guidelines require Enhanced Edits to be clearly labelled and accompanied by current, accurate images of the same room, so publish the staged and original versions as a pair. Twelve Lumens stamps a disclosure bar into the export and always keeps the original, so the pair is ready to upload.
How Twelve Lumens fits Rightmove's rules
- Every staged export can carry a clear in-image disclosure bar, so the AI labelling requirement for Enhanced Edits is met in the file itself, on Rightmove and everywhere else the photo travels.
- Your originals are never overwritten: upload once, stage as often as you like, and download the untouched photo next to the staged one for the paired publication Rightmove requires.
- Architecture stays locked. Walls, windows, doors and built-in features are preserved during staging, so an enhanced image never crosses into misrepresenting the property.
- Exports come in 3:2, Rightmove's upload ratio, at resolutions comfortably above the 1,024 px display size and far under the 20 MB feed limit.
Rightmove and virtual staging: common questions
Is virtual staging allowed on Rightmove?
Yes. As of our August 2026 check, Rightmove's technical guidelines (January 2026 edition) explicitly permit Enhanced Edits, which include AI-generated and virtually staged images, provided they do not misrepresent the property, are clearly labelled as AI or otherwise enhanced, and are accompanied by current, accurate images of the same room or property.
Do I have to publish the original photo as well?
Yes. The guidelines require every Enhanced Edit to be accompanied by current, accurate images of the same room or property, so plan the carousel in pairs: the staged image and the real photo it was made from. It is also simply good selling, because the before and after together show buyers the potential and the truth at once.
How does Twelve Lumens handle Rightmove's requirements?
Staged exports carry an in-image disclosure label, the original photo is always kept and downloadable alongside, and the room's architecture is locked during staging so nothing is added to or removed from the property itself. That covers Rightmove's three conditions: labelling, pairing and no misrepresentation.
Stage your Rightmove listings by the book
Labelled exports, originals always kept, architecture locked. The first five images are free, no credit card.
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