The regulation requires that any visualisation be clearly labelled straight away. However, Sreality’s advertising rules prohibit text in photographs and only permit a logo as a watermark measuring up to 150 x 70 dots. We have reviewed the published rules and looked for a way to ensure that the labelling complies with both the regulation and the portal’s requirements.

When an estate agent reads that a virtual property needs to be labelled, the logical question arises: where should this be written? The most common advice in both Czech and Slovak discussions is to write the word ‘visualisation’ directly onto the photograph. This is advice that could get your photograph or the entire advert taken down on the largest Czech property portal.

We have gone through the published advertising rules and compared what the regulation requires of you with what the portal allows you to do. This follows on from the article explaining which edits must be labelled from 2 August 2026.

Two conflicting requirements

The Artificial Intelligence Regulation requires that the disclosure be made clearly and conspicuously at the latest upon first display. It does not specify where. A watermark in a photo fulfils this requirement perfectly, as it remains with the image even when someone downloads it and shares it further.

Search engines see it differently. For them, text in a photograph is a distracting element that spoils the appearance of search results, and this has been laid down in their rules for years, long before the AI Act. This has created a conflict that the broker cannot resolve on their own.

Sreality: watermark yes, but only the logo

The Sreality.cz advertising rules contain three sections which, taken together, specify what is permitted to appear in a photograph:

Article 113. The logo is permitted solely as a transparent watermark in a photograph. It must be no more than 150 px wide and 70 px high, positioned 10 px from the right and bottom edges, with 30 per cent transparency.
Article 114. Photographs must not contain distracting text captions. This also explicitly refers to text captions in floor plans, as well as contact details, website addresses, names of individuals and advertising.
Article 115. Photographs that are framed, illustrative, otherwise highlighted or distractingly altered, as well as photographs in non-standard formats, are prohibited.

A permitted watermark is therefore a logo, not text. The strip of text reading ‘VISUALISATION’ across the corner of the photograph is a text caption under Article 114 and, at the same time, an element that highlights the photograph under Article 115. Nowhere does it state that the word ‘visualisation’ is an exception.

It is also worth noting Article 111: floor plans, plans and maps are only permitted from the second position onwards, and the first position must feature a photograph of the property itself. Anyone who uses a visualisation as the cover photo will face further problems.

There is nothing about artificial intelligence in the rules

What you won’t find at all in Sreality’s rules is artificial intelligence. The portal does not have a separate section on AI edits, so you won’t learn from them either that labelling in photographs is prohibited, or that the portal would allow it. The general provisions on text in photographs apply to them; nothing else.

For estate agents, this means they cannot simply ask the portal for permission. The ban on text in photographs also applies to the word ‘visualisation’, and there is no exception for it in the rules.

Slovak websites: we couldn’t find any rules regarding photographs

This is a difference worth noting. Whilst Sreality has published and numbered rules regarding photographs, we could not find any rules concerning photographs, watermarks or text in photographs in the publicly available terms and conditions of Nehnuteľnosti.sk.

This does not mean that they do not exist. They may be included in contractual documentation for estate agents, which is not publicly available, or they may be enforced through the vetting of adverts without the text being published. It means something else: a Slovak estate agent has no way of checking whether a photo with text will be approved, and will only find out when the portal rejects it.

The practical implication is the same as in the Czech Republic. Where you’re not familiar with the rules, it’s safer to keep the photo clear and include the description in the text, as nobody can stop you from including text in your advert.

So where does the label belong?

In the advert description, right at the start, not at the end under the technical specifications. The regulation calls for clarity and immediate visibility, and the description is the first place a prospective buyer looks after the photos.

Sentences that are easy to understand and do not read like a legal clause:

The photographs of the living room and bedroom are renderings of the interior. The flat is being sold unfurnished.
The furniture shown in the photographs has been digitally added and is not included in the sale. The other photographs show the property as it currently stands.
The photographs have been edited using artificial intelligence. The condition of the property, including any defects, is accurately depicted.

If there are several renderings, label the rooms. A statement such as ‘some of the photos may be renderings’ is worse than saying nothing at all: the prospective buyer won’t know which photo to trust and will be just as disappointed when they view the property.

The second option worth considering is the original photograph in the same set. Showing the furniture alongside a photograph of an empty room is the most honest approach one can take, and it does not contravene the portals’ rules in any respect.

What to do about the estate agency’s logo

The logo is visible in the holiday photo, but within the exact limits. The Sreality rules specify the exact dimensions: a maximum of 150 px in width and 70 px in height, 10 px from the right and bottom edges, with 30 per cent transparency. A logo that is larger or positioned elsewhere is grounds for rejection.

So if you want to include something of your own in the photo, it should be a logo, not a notice. Leave the description of the visualisation to the text.

Checklist before posting an advert

Is the first photo of the property itself, rather than a rendering, a collage or a floor plan?
Is there any text, a frame or highlighting in the photos? If so, get rid of it.
Is the logo simply a watermark measuring up to 150 × 70 px with 30 per cent transparency in the bottom right-hand corner?
Is the format correct? JPG, 4:3 aspect ratio, up to 5 MB, maximum 1920 × 1080 px.
Does the description include a sentence about visualisation and name specific rooms?
Does any of the photos hide a fault that will be visible during the viewing?

How we handle this at MeaReal

The MeaReal service (meareal.com), operated by MeaOvis s. r. o., does not superimpose text onto photographs. For virtual tours and when clearing a room, we provide a ready-made sentence to copy into the property description, as that is where it belongs and where the portal will not remove it.

The floor plan is the only element in our system that does not go through the AI model, and we do not alter its labels, dimensions or legend. This is not only because the model altered the dimensions when the drawing was redrawn, but also because Article 114 of the Sreality rules expressly prohibits the inclusion of custom text in the floor plan.

You can try out three edited photos without a credit card, once your email address has been verified.

We checked the portals’ terms and conditions on 17 October 2026. As the portals may amend these, please read the current version via the link above before raising a dispute. This text does not constitute legal advice.

A lawyer advises using the ‘VISUALISATION’ watermark; portal rules prohibit it. Where the label belongs