Connecticut Private Listings Law Takes Effect as Industry Battle Intensifies

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A new Connecticut law is drawing fresh attention to the national fight over private real estate listings, but the statute stops short of banning sellers from keeping a home off the public market.

Public Act 26-23, which took effect Oct. 1, establishes a public-access requirement once a residential property is publicly marketed. A broker or agent who publicly markets a listing must make it available concurrently or beforehand through at least one multiple listing service operating in Connecticut, a publicly accessible internet listing platform, or another electronic platform that provides unrestricted public access.

The distinction matters. The law explicitly says it does not require every seller to publicly market a property or submit it to an MLS. It also expressly preserves private listings, pocket listings and office-exclusive listings when those properties are not publicly marketed.

Restricted platforms do not satisfy the public-access rule

The statute is unusually specific about what does not qualify as public access. A platform cannot satisfy the requirement if access is limited by an invitation, password or other credentials, or if it is designed primarily for internal use by a single brokerage or affiliated group.

Sellers who choose not to publicly market their property may execute a seller or landlord public-marketing opt-out form. The law also permits agents to market a genuinely private listing to another agent at a different brokerage, provided the property is not publicly marketed and the arrangement complies with state and federal law.

That framework puts Connecticut directly into a broader industry debate over how brokerages can use private-listing networks while preserving seller choice and broad consumer access to homes that are being publicly promoted.

Compass says its model complies

Compass, which has made private and pre-market listings a central part of its strategy, told Real Estate News that its See It First approach is consistent with the Connecticut law because sellers retain the choice to keep a listing private.

The practical application could become important. A listing that remains genuinely private is expressly permitted by the statute. But once public marketing begins, the law requires broad public availability and says an invitation-only, password-protected or primarily brokerage-internal platform cannot by itself satisfy that requirement.

The Connecticut measure arrives as private listings have become one of the most contentious issues in residential brokerage. WRE News has followed that dispute closely, including Compass’ threats of litigation against MLS organizations, CRMLS’ rejection of Compass’ demands and congressional scrutiny of private-listing practices.

A state-level rule in a national dispute

Connecticut is not alone in addressing how residential listings are marketed. Washington has also enacted legislation governing exclusive marketing, while other states have considered measures addressing private or limited-access listing channels.

For brokers operating in Connecticut, however, the operative language is now state law rather than an MLS policy. The Connecticut General Assembly’s legislative record shows Gov. Ned Lamont signed the measure May 27 after passage by the legislature.

The result is a framework that preserves a homeowner’s ability to choose privacy but draws a clearer boundary around public promotion: if a property is marketed publicly, the listing must also be available through a platform offering unrestricted public access.