Your MLS sets the display rules. MLSimport is built to follow them. The account, and the obligations that come with it, are yours.
This page explains how the plugin behaves and where the responsibility sits. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace your MLS’s IDX policy. When the two disagree, your MLS wins.
Who is responsible for what
| Party | Responsible for |
|---|---|
| Your MLS | Setting the IDX rules, issuing your credentials, deciding which listings and fields your feed is allowed to carry, and telling you when any of that changes. |
| You | Holding valid MLS membership and an IDX agreement, keeping credentials current, displaying the attribution and disclaimers your board requires, and configuring the plugin to match your board’s rules. |
| MLSimport | Connecting over the RESO Web API with the credentials you supply, importing only what the feed authorises, honouring the internet display flags in that feed, and removing listings when they leave the MLS. |
What the plugin does
- Internet display rules are respected. Every import task honours the internet display flags carried in your feed. Listings the feed marks as not displayable are not imported.
- Only what your feed authorises. MLSimport requests data using your credentials. It cannot show you listings or fields your board has not granted, and it does not aggregate data across customers.
- Stale listings are removed. Daily reconciliation takes down listings that have left the MLS, so sold, withdrawn and expired properties do not linger on your site. You choose which statuses are protected from removal.
- Attribution fields are available. Listing agent, listing office and the other attribution fields your board requires are in the RESO field set and can be mapped, labelled and displayed.
- Per-field visibility. You can import a field and still keep it private, which is how you satisfy boards that permit storage but restrict display.
- Photos stay at source. Images are served from the MLS or its CDN as remote references rather than copied onto your server.
- Everything is logged. The activity log records every add, update and delete with the ListingKey and the task responsible, which is what you will want if your board audits you.
What you should do
- Read your board’s current IDX policy. They differ, and they change.
- Configure your import tasks to match it: statuses, fields, and any market or office restrictions.
- Display the attribution, disclaimer and last-updated text your board requires. Map the fields you need for it.
- Keep your credentials and your IDX agreement current. An expired agreement is your problem, not a plugin bug.
- Re-check after any board policy change, and after you change an import task.
Can the MLS fine us for outdated listings on our site?
Yes. You signed your board’s IDX rules to get the feed, and a sold home still showing as active, an old price or an expired listing left up can break them. Most boards start with a warning. Each MLS sets its own fines, and there is no national table. Realcomp in Michigan, for example, fines $2,500 for a second offense and $5,000 for a third. A short sync delay alone does not prove a breach. Keep hourly updates and daily reconciliation running, and check a few sold and expired listings now and then. If one is wrong, check its status in the MLS first, then your import history and your protected statuses. See can your brokerage get fined for outdated listings and how to fix outdated listings.
Can we show only some MLS listings?
Usually yes. Filters by area, price, property type or status are fine. Filtering a general search page to hide other brokers’ valid listings is not. Your import tasks apply the filters, and your broker picks the rule and checks it against your MLS’s policy. See controlling which listings are imported.
What to check before your MLS reviews your site
Most board notices come from a missing credit, not a broken feed. Check your live site the way a reviewer would:
- Open five listings from other offices. The listing brokerage name shows on each one.
- The listing firm’s email or phone shows next to it, if your board requires it.
- Your board’s disclaimer shows word for word, with its logo if required.
- Search result cards and map pins show the brokerage name too. Boards check those, not only the listing page.
- A listing that sold or expired last week is gone.
- Every import task has the internet display flags turned on.
If an attribution field comes in empty, see why attribution fields are empty. The settings for each import task are in MLS display rules: attribution, internet flags and protected data.
Does your plugin need to be on your MLS’s approved vendor list? Usually not. Your MLS approves a feed, issued to you or your broker. The vendor list matters when a vendor holds the feed for you. With MLS Import the feed is in your name. See who needs to hold the credentials.
If your MLS asks for a change
Send it to us. If a board requires behaviour the plugin does not currently support, we want to know, and we would rather fix it than have you switched off. Open a ticket from your dashboard or contact us.
Related: what IDX actually is, terms and conditions, and DMCA.
