Why it matters
REBNY removed compensation fields from the RLS on August 1, 2025. That did not eliminate seller- or owner-paid compensation, and it did not prohibit a direct email announcing it. The operational change is where the two records live: the property remains in the listing system when required, while the compensation offer travels separately through an off-RLS channel.
Do not take the listing out of the cooperative system merely because compensation cannot appear there. Separate the records: property availability in the RLS, compensation terms in the email, and authorization in the brokerage file.
RLS compensation fields
Removed
REBNY stopped collecting and displaying compensation offers in the RLS effective August 1, 2025.
Independent email
Available
NAR guidance identifies email as an off-MLS method for communicating an authorized offer.
Offer source
Seller / owner
For REBNY residential transactions, the offer should originate with the seller or owner rather than the listing broker.
Listing submission
Still applies
An external email does not replace RLS submission when the UCBA requires the exclusive to be entered.
Put it to work
- Confirm the seller or owner has authorized the amount and payment structure in writing.
- Submit the exclusive to the RLS on the timetable required by your listing-service rules.
- Remove compensation from every RLS field, remark, attachment and feed.
- Send the compensation terms through an independently distributed email and retain the final version.
What belongs in each record
The RLS carries the property
Address, price, status, property facts, access and the other required listing information stay in the cooperative listing record. The inability to publish compensation there is not permission to delay or skip an otherwise required submission.
The email carries the offer
Identify the property, the party making the offer, the exact amount or formula, the event that earns payment, and the contact for acceptance or questions. Send it independently of any MLS or RLS email function.
The file carries authority
Keep the seller or owner authorization, the listing agreement, any buyer- or tenant-representation agreement, and the final compensation agreement. The marketing email announces terms; it does not replace the underlying contracts.
Why a broad email is more than a workaround
The removal of one field created a communication job. A useful campaign does more than relocate the number.
It restores context
A compensation figure without the address, price, property type and showing path is a loose promise. A single-listing email puts the offer beside the facts that let an agent recognize a live client match and decide whether to reply.
It replaces dozens of inconsistent conversations
Phone calls, texts and direct messages create different versions of the same offer. One approved campaign gives the market a dated statement, while replies still return to the listing agent for property-specific negotiation.
It reaches outside the sender’s personal sphere
The operational problem is not sending an email to the 80 agents already in a phone. It is reaching the rest of the working market without buying, cleaning and suppressing a new contact file for every listing.
It produces evidence of distribution
The seller can see what was sent, when it went out and how the channel performed. Delivery, opens, clicks and replies do not prove a buyer, but they are a far stronger marketing record than “I told some brokers.”
Build the campaign in CoBroker Mail
The product is designed around one property and one broker decision, so the offer does not get buried in a newsletter.
Start with the property, not the policy
Choose the single-listing layout that fits the assignment and enter the verified price, carrying costs, availability, access and strongest client-matching facts. The receiving agent should understand the opportunity before reading the compensation line.
Write the compensation line from the authorization
Copy the approved party, amount, recipient and payment trigger into the campaign. Do not improvise from memory or reduce a conditional agreement to a headline that sounds unconditional.
Test the exact artifact
Send the rendered email to yourself and the supervising broker. Check the subject line, mobile layout, property link, sender identity, disclosures and reply address—the details that disappear in a text-only draft.
Send once, follow up personally
The broad campaign reaches 15,000 NYC real estate addresses. The listing agent then works the replies and follows up with the smaller set of agents whose clients fit. Scale opens the conversation; brokerage work closes it.
Report without inflating the result
Use the campaign report for delivery and engagement, and keep showings, offers and transaction activity in the deal record. Together they show the seller both distribution and outcome without confusing one for the other.
Where the clean channel becomes risky
A direct campaign is not a loophole around the rest of the transaction rules.
Do not turn it into an MLS field by another name
Do not populate the email from an MLS compensation field, attach the offer inside the RLS, or use an MLS data feed to create a searchable multi-broker compensation platform.
Do not create selective listing access
Compensation cannot become a reason to hide otherwise suitable listings from a client. The buyer or tenant relationship and the client’s criteria govern what gets shown.
Do not overpromise compliance
A delivery service can separate the communication channels and preserve a campaign record. It cannot establish agency, create owner authorization or decide whether a particular payment structure satisfies a brokerage’s rules.
Use this language
Sale announcement
Seller has authorized an offer of compensation equal to 2% of the purchase price to the licensed brokerage representing the buyer, payable by Seller at closing. Compensation is negotiable and is not set by law. Reply for the written terms.
Rental announcement
Owner has authorized an offer of compensation equal to one-half month’s rent to the licensed brokerage representing the tenant, payable by Owner upon lease execution and commencement. No broker fee is payable by the tenant to the landlord or landlord’s agent. Reply for the written terms.
What to watch
Do not write that the compensation offer is in the RLS. It is not.
Do not write “our brokerage offers” when the seller or owner is the party making the offer.
Do not assume a broad agent email makes an owner-opted-out listing distributable; the listing’s dissemination status is a separate question.
Do not describe the service as a compensation marketplace. The defensible product is a sender-controlled announcement delivered outside the listing service.
Primary guidance
- REBNY: RLS compensation fields removed
- REBNY: RLS submission and simultaneity FAQ
- NAR: Consumer guide to offers of compensation
Operational guidance only; confirm each transaction with your supervising broker or counsel.
From field note to send
Keep the offer separate—and give it real reach
Build one branded property email with the authorized amount, payment trigger and direct reply path. Preview it, send it to 15,000 NYC real estate addresses and retain the campaign record without putting compensation back into the listing service.