Connecticut's Private Listings Law: What Changes for Greenwich Buyers and Sellers

Public Act 26-23 (Senate Bill 340, signed by Governor Lamont on May 27, 2026) applies to agents who represent a seller or landlord of a residential property with one to four units. The Office of Legislative Research summary notes that this includes "any individual unit within a multiunit development." Once that agent starts public marketing, the home has to be available on "a fair, nondiscriminatory and publicly accessible listing platform" at the same time or earlier.

An active listing on a multiple listing service operating in Connecticut satisfies the rule. So does a public listing website, or any other platform with unrestricted public access. A platform that needs an invitation, password or login, or one designed mainly for internal use by a single brokerage or affiliated group, does not count.

The listing agent also has to treat every prospective buyer or tenant the same way: share the same property information, answer inquiries on an equal basis, and offer in-person or virtual showings on an equal basis, whether or not the buyer has an agent. After a hearing, a violation can cost an agent a license suspension or revocation, a fine of up to $5,000 per violation, or both.

The statute defines public marketing as promotion through any medium reasonably accessible to buyers or tenants, agents and the general public. It lists these examples:

• Displaying the listing on a publicly accessible website or digital platform
• Promoting it on any social media platform
• Emailing it to more than one recipient at a time
• Signs that direct people to a real estate broker
• Posting it on a broker's own website or app, or including it on a private network shared by two or more brokerages or franchisees
• Digital ads meant for public distribution

The fifth item is the one brokers are talking about. Joanne Breen, who chairs the Connecticut Realtors legislative committee, told Real Estate News that most Connecticut listings are already marketed publicly, so she does not expect a big change for most agents. The exception is a firm that calls a listing private while circulating it to two or more companies. Under the law, that home also has to be on an open platform such as a portal or the MLS.

The act spells out what it does not change. Sellers keep the option to sell quietly. Under the statute, these remain legal:

• A seller choosing not to market publicly and not to put the home on any MLS
• Private, pocket and office-exclusive listings, as long as they are not publicly marketed
• A seller directing the agent to market the home privately or to a limited group of buyers, within state and federal law
• One agent telling an agent at a different brokerage about a private listing that is not publicly marketed
• Sharing property information with agents in the same office under the same supervising broker

Brokerages read that list differently. Compass told Real Estate News that the statute preserves seller choice and that its See It First marketing program complies. Deanna Crooks, president-elect of the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors, told the same outlet she does not think "black box" private listing platforms fit the spirit of the law. The statute does not name any brokerage or program, so how it applies to each one is not settled yet.

A seller who wants to stay off the open market signs a "Seller Opt-Out of Real Estate Public Marketing" form when the listing agreement is signed. The wording is written into the act and must be printed in at least 10-point type. The seller initials four statements, summarized here:

1. The property may not be visible to a broad range of buyers and the agents who represent them.
2. Skipping public marketing may reduce competition, bring fewer offers, and hurt the final price and terms.
3. Limiting showings or tours may further reduce buyer interest.
4. The seller is deciding knowingly and voluntarily, and had the chance to consult an agent and an attorney.

Landlords who want to rent a home without public marketing sign a matching Landlord Opt-Out form. If you are selling a Greenwich house to fund your next purchase, read those four lines before you sign.

Greenwich has its own MLS, run by the Greenwich Association of REALTORS and separate from SmartMLS. GAR says its MLS is where nearly all information about homes for sale and past sale prices in town originates, so it is the platform most compliant Greenwich listings will land on.

On September 1 the Greenwich MLS showed 80 single-family homes for sale, and only 34 of them under $4 million (details in the Greenwich housing market update). With that little on the market, a house shared only between brokerages was a house many buyers never got to see. Now a home that is advertised anywhere in public has to be searchable too.

• Set alerts on a Greenwich MLS feed. Anything with a sign, a social post or an email blast should show up there or on a public portal at the same time.
• Ask about office exclusives by name. Private listings can still move inside one office, and agent to agent across firms, as long as nobody advertises them. You only hear about those by asking.
• Question a mismatch. If you see a Greenwich home promoted on social media or with a sign but cannot find it on the MLS or a portal, ask the listing agent why.
• Budget the whole purchase. Whatever route a house takes to market, the carrying cost is the same. Run the Greenwich property tax numbers before you make an offer.

• Condo disclosure (PA 26-31). The residential condition report a seller hands a buyer now carries a statement on common interest communities. In a community with more than 12 units, it tells the buyer to ask for the resale certificate and the reserve fund report. In smaller communities without a resale certificate, it tells buyers to talk to trade professionals, attorneys, real estate professionals, financial analysts and other residents. The same act lets owners holding at least 20% of the votes petition Superior Court for an independent audit of the association's finances, at their own expense and no more than once in 12 months (OLR summary). Greenwich had 26 condos for sale on September 1, its highest count of 2026, so this one matters locally.
• Utility charges in leases (PA 26-113). A lease signed or renewed on or after October 1 cannot make a tenant pay for utilities when there is no separate meter for that unit (act text). Landlords can still estimate utility costs and build them into the rent.
• Security deposit penalties (PA 26-79). The state banking commissioner can now order civil penalties of up to $100,000 for certain security deposit violations, according to the OLR 2026 housing acts report.

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