Some agents have decided to risk everything and take drone videos/photos of their clients acreages, commercial property, farmland. If you are the owner of the property you should be asking a lot of questions if you are giving permission for someone to take and use these pictures/videos for marketing purposes,
Unique legal issues can limit the use of drones in real estate.
Obtaining a picture of a house or property from angles above the ground will provide real estate agents and brokers with a distinct competitive advantage in selling commercial and residential homes and properties. Real estate brokers, real estate agents and UAS operators looking to specialize in the real estate drone photography and videography markets have a number of legal hurdles to get over before they can start taking photographs or videos for their real estate customers. Those issues include, but are not limited to:
- Do you have the legal right to fly? Obtaining a Section 333 Exemption which will put real estate professionals in a position to take aerial photography using drones for commercial purposes.
- Can you fly over houses, above the neighbor’s house or in neighborhoods? Operating real estate dedicated drones in a way which complies with the Section 333 Exemption and the blanket COA issued by the FAA, is going to be challenging. You need to do it right, with safety and operational checklists to make sure that everyone within the flight zone is provided notice of the flight, provides consent and remains in a protected area during flight operations. The blanket COA for 333 exemption holders allows flights below 200 feet without getting a civil COA for each flight which is helpful. But there are still many FAA regulations which need to be accounted for as part of each drone flight to capture real estate photography or video.
- Can you fly when there are bystanders near the flight operation? Flying over residential or commercial properties which have neighboring buildings or people, within 500 feet of the flight, raises a number of regulatory compliance issues. Currently, one cannot fly a drone to take photographs or video if there are any people, vehicles or structures within 500 feet and which are not part of the flight. Without special procedures, this regulation precludes real estate brokers and agents, as well as their vendor servicing them, from taking photos and videos of most residential and commercial properties. Our drone and UAS law professionals can help you work within these regulations.
- Who can fly my drone if I obtain a 333 exemption? Finding the proper drone operation to conduct flights safely and in full compliance with the FAA’s exemption and all AIMS/FAR regulations is critical. Doing the due diligence on the Pilot In Command (PIC) is also important. A good drone attorney can help you understand these risks and reduce your exposure if something goes wrong.
- What insurance companies will insure my real estate companies’ use of drones? One of the more interesting aspects of commercial drone use is ‘drone insurance.’ You will need a policy to cover any accidents which might result in injury to person or property. Obtaining insurance will depend on your operation protocols, maintenance protocols and other detailed flight and operator documentation. Our drone professionals can help you draft and implement safety policies and procedures that meet and exceed FAA requirements.
- Privacy issues? If you get the neighbors house, barn, shed, animals, kids in the drone picture/video, the homeowner and real estate agent and real estate broker could be held liable and sued.