A Genuine Client, a Hard Review: What Zillow Will Actually Remove

Can Businesses Remove Zillow Reviews?

Yes, in specific cases — Zillow removes reviews that aren’t tied to a genuine transaction with that agent, involve an undisclosed conflict of interest, or contain hate speech, privacy violations, defamation, or spam. A client’s genuine but unflattering account of a rough transaction isn’t itself grounds for removal, even on a deal that closed successfully.

"Delete" and "remove" mean the same thing here — Zillow doesn't let a business unilaterally delete a review either way. Both routes go through the same flagging process against the same content guidelines below.

Which Zillow Reviews Can Be Removed?

Zillow evaluates a flagged review against specific categories, regardless of how positive or negative it is. A review is a genuine candidate for removal if:

• It isn't actually tied to a genuine transaction with the agent being reviewed — for example, a reviewer who never closed a deal with that agent, or a review submitted for the wrong agent entirely.
• Conflict of interest — the review comes from a competing agent, a former employee of the brokerage, or someone else with an undisclosed stake rather than a genuine client.
• Hate speech, threats, or discriminatory language directed at the agent.
• Privacy violations — disclosure of another person's private information, such as a home address or financial details unrelated to describing the service experience.
• Defamatory statements or unsubstantiated claims of illegal or fraudulent conduct by the agent, going beyond a description of a bad experience.
• Spam, duplicate submissions, or content unrelated to the transaction or the agent.

For the complete breakdown — including the misconceptions that waste the most time and how to build a flagging case that's actually likely to work — see the full guide: Can Businesses Remove Zillow Reviews?

How to Report or Flag a Zillow Review

Reporting works best when the flag names a specific, checkable guideline violation rather than simply disagreeing with the review — "this reviewer has no matching record with us" is actionable; "this isn't fair" generally isn't. See Zillow’s guidance on agent reviews for the current process directly from Zillow.

What If Zillow Refuses to Remove the Review?

If the review doesn't violate Zillow's guidelines, removing it may not be an available option — that's the realistic outcome for most negative reviews, since being genuine and unflattering isn't a policy violation. In that situation, the focus shifts from deletion to the overall profile: a thoughtful public response to the review that stays up, and a larger base of genuine reviews so a single negative one carries proportionally less weight in the average.