Who it reaches
Any person who advertises a residential rental, not only licensed agents. Landlords and property managers who market their own units are covered, which is broader than AB 723.
California · AB 2025 · Rentals
Does California’s altered-photo law reach rental listings?
AB 723 made disclosure mandatory for altered photos in homes for sale. AB 2025 is the rental version. Here is where it stands, what it will require, and what landlords and property managers can do today.
Does California’s altered-photo law apply to rental listings?
AB 723 (Bus. & Prof. Code § 10140.8) reaches advertising “for the sale of real property,” so on its text it does not cover rentals. Rentals will be covered separately: AB 2025 was signed on September 27, 2026 as Chapter 572, and takes effect January 1, 2027. From that date it will require a disclosure on or next to the altered image and a link to the original for rental advertising, including by landlords.
Where AB 2025 stands
Signed into lawTenancy: digitally altered images: disclosure · Assemblymember Gail Pellerin · 2025-26 session
AB 2025 was signed on September 27, 2026 as Chapter 572, and takes effect January 1, 2027.
What the bill says, as passed by the Legislature
What it requires
A reasonably conspicuous statement on or next to a digitally altered image saying it has been altered, plus a link, URL, or QR code to a publicly accessible page showing the original, unaltered image. The same two-part duty AB 723 set for sale listings.
What counts as altered
An existing photo changed with editing software or AI to add, remove, or change elements such as furniture, appliances, paint, or landscaping — and, as reported, an image generated entirely by AI. Ordinary adjustments such as cropping, lighting, white balance, and colour correction are excluded when they do not change how the property is represented.
What is not yet confirmed
The penalty and the code sections the chaptered bill adds. RELTO has not read the chaptered text and does not state them. For licensed agents, the California Apartment Association reports that a violation of the rental-ad rule also violates real estate licensing law.
What landlords and property managers can do now
RELTO recommendation
These steps meet what AB 2025 will require and what AB 723 already requires for sale listings.
- Label every altered rental photo. Put “Virtually staged” or “Digitally altered” on the image or directly beside it, wherever the listing appears — your site, rental portals, and social posts.
- Keep and link the original. Save the unaltered photo and publish it at a public link. A URL or QR code next to the altered image is what AB 2025 will require, and it costs nothing to do now.
- Never alter the unit itself. Furniture and decor can be staged. Walls, windows, floors, appliances, views, and condition cannot be changed without misrepresenting what a tenant is renting — a label does not cure that.
For sale listings, the AB 723 pre-publication checklist is the operational version, and what counts as digitally altered classifies each edit.
Sources
Last reviewed:
- AB 2025 (Pellerin) — bill text and history — California Legislative Information. Reviewed .Bill history read 2026-10-01: approved by the Governor and chaptered 2026-09-27 as Chapter 572, Statutes of 2026. Confirm penalties and the code sections added against the chaptered text before stating them.
- AB 2025 — bill summary and vote history — CalMatters Digital Democracy. Reviewed .Read through search extracts, not the full page.
- Assembly Privacy & Consumer Protection Committee analysis of AB 2025 — California State Assembly. Reviewed .Analysis of the April 2026 version; the bill was amended in the Senate afterwards.
- New law will require disclosures for digitally altered rental ads — California Apartment Association. Reviewed .Source for the January 1, 2027 effective date.
- Bill would require disclosures for digitally altered images in rental property ads — California Apartment Association. Reviewed .Read through search extracts, not the full page.