European UnionA property portal showed manipulated photos of an apartment. Is this misleading?
Yes, showing manipulated photos of an apartment on a property portal is likely misleading under EU consumer protection law, as it distorts information essential to a consumer’s purchasing decision.
What the Law Says
The EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive sets the baseline for prohibiting misleading actions by traders toward consumers.
Under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC), a commercial practice is 'misleading' if it contains false information or deceives (or is likely to deceive) the average consumer, causing them to take a transactional decision they would not have taken otherwise.
Manipulated photos — such as digitally enlarged rooms, removed structural flaws, or added non-existent features — constitute false or deceptive information about a key characteristic of the property: its physical condition and appearance.
The Directive applies to all stages of a commercial practice, including advertising and pre-contractual information — like listings on property portals.
Statutory TextA commercial practice is misleading if it contains false information and is therefore untruthful or in any way deceives or is likely to deceive the average consumer...
— Directive 2005/29/EC, Art. 6(1)(a) — Misleading actions
Statutory Text‘Commercial practice’ means any act, omission, course of conduct or representation, whether oral, written or visual, made by a trader...
— Directive 2005/29/EC, Art. 2(d) — Definition of commercial practice
What Courts Have Said
EU courts and national courts applying the Directive have consistently held that visual misrepresentations in property listings breach consumer rights.
The CJEU confirmed that omitting material information — or presenting it in a distorted way — in real estate advertising may constitute a misleading commercial practice under Art. 6(1)(a).
The court ruled that digitally altered apartment photos that conceal defects or exaggerate space misled consumers and violated Germany’s implementation of Directive 2005/29/EC.
What to Do
Take screenshots of the manipulated listing and compare them with reality (e.g., original photos, video walkthroughs, or measurements).
Contact the property portal to request removal or correction — many are required to act under national transposition laws.
Report the practice to your national consumer authority (e.g., UK CMA, German VZBV, French DGCCRF).
If you signed a contract based on the misleading photos, you may have a right to withdraw within 14 days (under Directive 2011/83/EU) or claim damages.
Sources
Not legal advice. This article is general information based on publicly available sources, written for educational purposes. Laws change and individual situations vary. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before acting on anything you read here. Last reviewed: 2026-06-08.