The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) is targeting the real estate industry, as the agency
begins to come down on the growing popularity of using drones for taking
listing photos and videos.
The FAA is beginning by targeting several brokerages in New York
City that use drones, delivering subpoenas in a widespread move to
learn more about how real estate professionals use the technology to advance
their businesses.
This
is the FAA's interpretation of lawful model aircraft use.
The FAA does not condone the use of drones for commercial
purposes but is expected to reveal proposed rules for such use next year.
Hobbyists For now, practitioners who use drones for their business can be fined
— and that's exactly what will happen to a handful of NYC's largest brokerages
if they don't stop their drone use immediately, FAA sources told the New York
Post.
"We have a mandate to protect the American public in the
air and on the ground, and the public expects us to carry out the
mission," FAA administrator Michael Huerta wrote in a memo, according to
the Post.
It speaks to the risk real estate professionals take when using
drones for their listings. The National Association of REALTORS® has long warned that practitioners should steer clear of using
drones for their
business until the FAA releases solid rules on such use, which is expected by
September 2015.
