Compass Files Ethics Complaints Against Zillow in 26 States

Compass International Holdings has filed Code of Ethics complaints against Zillow in 26 states, alleging that the brokerage firm has made false advertising claims. A Compass spokesperson confirmed to HousingWire on Tuesday that these complaints span 55 Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) and 30 Realtor associations. The core of the allegations centers on Zillow's practice of withholding listings from buyers if they are not initially prioritized on the platform, leading to active, publicly available listings being displayed as "not for sale." Compass argues this misleads consumers and prevents buyers from finding homes that sellers have intentionally made available.

This action follows a history of disputes between the two companies over Zillow's listing access standards policy, which was introduced in April 2025. This policy prohibits listings that are publicly marketed for more than one business day before being available on IDX or VOW feed-powered websites from appearing on the Zillow portal. Compass had previously sued Zillow over this policy in late June 2025 but dismissed the lawsuit in March 2026. The current ethics complaints represent a renewed effort by Compass to challenge Zillow's listing practices.

Adding to the ongoing legal entanglements, Compass is currently a defendant in an antitrust lawsuit initiated by Zillow. In that suit, Zillow claims that Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), a Chicagoland MLS, conspired with Compass to restrict Zillow's access to listings. Zillow alleges that MRED updated its IDX display "objective criteria" policy specifically to make Zillow non-compliant if it enforced its listing access standards policy in the Chicagoland area. These ethics complaints were filed just days after the National Association of Realtors' annual conference.