Does California AB 723 Apply to Apartment Rentals? A Guide for Multifamily Operators
For marketing, leasing, compliance and asset teams at multifamily operators with California communities.
On its text, California AB 723 (Business and Professions Code 10140.8, in effect since January 1, 2026) covers digitally altered images in advertising for the sale of real property by brokers, salespeople or people acting for them. It never mentions leases or rentals. Rental photos are still exposed: BPC 17500 and 17530 bar misleading real estate advertising by any person.
- The duty is written for sale advertising, and neighboring sections say rent or lease when they mean it, but that reading is not a safe harbor.
- It does reach multifamily sales: a community sold through a broker, condo sell-outs and small buildings on an MLS.
- On their text, BPC 17500 and 17530 reach misleading real estate statements by any person, and BPC 10176 reaches licensee misrepresentation, including in leasing.
- The simplest defensible California rental policy is to meet the AB 723 standard anyway: a label on or next to the image and a link to the original.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws and regulator guidance change; check the current rules for your properties with your counsel before acting.
The short answer for apartment operators
BPC 10140.8 binds a broker, salesperson or person acting on their behalf who uses a digitally altered image in promotional material "for the sale of real property." A lease-up campaign or an ILS listing for an available apartment is not, on those words, promotion for a sale. That is a reading of the text, not a court ruling or Department of Real Estate (DRE) guidance, and two things keep it from being academic:
- Part of your marketing is a sale. Disposition photos, condo units and small buildings listed on an MLS fall inside the text.
- The underlying conduct is already unlawful. A rental photo showing a washer and dryer the unit lacks is what BPC 17500 and 17530 address, for any person.
Take the sale-only reading to counsel; it is not permission to stop labeling edited rental photos.
What BPC 10140.8 actually says
AB 723 (Pellerin) was chaptered on October 10, 2025 as Chapter 497, Statutes of 2025, and appears in the DRE's Real Estate Law compilation "as amended and in effect January 1, 2026." The enacted text is stricter than the July 2025 version that most summaries describe.
| Element | Enacted text (in effect 2026) | July 2, 2025 version |
|---|---|---|
| Who is bound | A real estate broker or salesperson, or a person acting on their behalf | Same |
| Trigger | A digitally altered image in an advertisement or promotional material for the sale of real property | Same |
| Label | A statement that the image was altered, "reasonably conspicuous and located on or adjacent to the image" | Same |
| Original, every ad | A link, URL or QR code to a public page that clearly identifies the original, with wording saying the originals are there | Not required |
| Original, own website | Post the unaltered version, or link to it | Same |
| What counts as altered | Software or AI used to add, remove or change elements, including fixtures, furniture, appliances, flooring, walls, paint color, hardscape, landscape, facade, floor plans, streetlights, utility poles, views through windows and neighboring properties | Real property elements such as furniture, appliances, flooring and walls |
| Excluded | Lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping, exposure and other common adjustments that do not change the representation of the real property | Same list, tested against the property's "condition" |
Sources: DRE Real Estate Law, 2026 edition; Senate Judiciary Committee analysis. The section has no penalty clause of its own. For licensees, willfully violating the Real Estate Law is grounds for suspension or revocation under BPC 10177(d).
Sale versus lease: why the wording matters
The Real Estate Law separates sale from lease constantly, so "sale" in 10140.8 carries weight:
- BPC 10131(b) makes leasing for others its own broker activity: a person who, for compensation, "leases or rents or offers to lease or rent" or "solicits for prospective tenants."
- BPC 10140.6(b)(3), two sections earlier, defines solicitation materials to include "'for sale,' rent, lease" signs.
- BPC 10140 covers false statements about land "offered for sale or lease."
The Legislature wrote rent and lease into neighboring sections and left them out of this one. That supports the sale-only reading without settling it; the author framed the problem around "real estate listings" generally.
Who in apartment operations is a licensee
Less than it seems to matter: the trigger is the sale, not the license. BPC 10131.01 exempts resident managers and their staff, and lets unlicensed management-firm employees show units and accept leases under the firm's broker of record.
Seven common apartment photo edits, and how to treat each
Whether each edit is a digitally altered image under 10140.8 (sale advertising), and what to do with it in a rental listing.
- 01
Brightening, white balance, HDR blending, straightening
Under 10140.8: excluded as common adjustments, provided the property's representation does not change. Rentals: no label. Test: would a renter on tour see the same room, better lit?
- 02
Sky replacement or a twilight conversion
Under 10140.8: treat as altered. A replaced sky changes an element, and San Diego MLS's AB 723 guide labels a day-to-dusk conversion "Digitally Altered, Disclosure Required." CRMLS says disclose when in doubt. Rentals: low misrepresentation risk; label it on disposition marketing and set one portfolio rule for leasing photos.
- 03
Removing a utility pole, construction fencing or a neighboring building
Under 10140.8: altered; the definition names utility poles and neighboring properties, and CRMLS bars the edit outright. Rentals: the photo shows a view the renter will not have, a statement about an attribute of the property. Label it or use the original.
- 04
Virtually staging a vacant unit
Under 10140.8: altered (furniture). Rentals: staging is lawful and common, and the standard caption is "Virtually staged" plus the empty-room original next to it.
- 05
Adding appliances or finishes the unit lacks
Under 10140.8: altered (appliances, flooring, fixtures). Rentals: a label will not fix this. Showing an in-unit washer and dryer the unit lacks is a misleading statement of fact. Do not publish it.
- 06
AI renderings of amenities still under construction
Under 10140.8: a rendering built from scratch is arguably not an altered photo, but a real photo with an AI pool added is. Rentals: label renderings "Artist rendering" and retire them when the amenity opens.
- 07
Changing the view through a window
Under 10140.8: altered; "views through windows" is named in the definition, and CRMLS bars the edit outright. Rentals: do not publish it. If the unit carries a view premium, a swapped skyline misstates what the renter is paying for. Use the unit's own view, captioned with the floor it was taken from.
Laws that already reach misleading rental photos
AB 723 adds a disclosure format. The rule against misleading property pictures is older and not limited to licensees or sales.
| Law | Who it binds | What it prohibits | Stated penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BPC 17500 | Any person, firm or corporation, and employees | Untrue or misleading statements, including online, to dispose of property or induce the public to enter an obligation, known or reasonably knowable as misleading | Misdemeanor: up to 6 months in county jail, $2,500, or both; civil penalty up to $2,500 per violation (BPC 17536) | DRE code excerpts |
| BPC 17530 | Any person, firm or corporation, employee or agent | A statement of fact about a "characteristic, quality, or attribute" of any real estate, known to be untrue and meant to mislead | Civil penalty up to $2,500 per violation (BPC 17536), brought by the Attorney General or a local prosecutor | DRE code excerpts |
| BPC 10176(a) | Real estate licensees | Substantial misrepresentation in licensed acts, including leasing for others | License suspension or revocation | DRE Real Estate Law |
| BPC 10140 | Anyone who knowingly authorizes or aids publication | False statements about land or subdivisions, as defined in the Subdivided Lands Law, offered for sale or lease | Up to $1,000, one year in county jail, or both | DRE Real Estate Law |
The Senate Judiciary analysis cites 10140 as existing law, but its text points to the Subdivided Lands Law, so we do not treat it as a general rental rule. For an apartment listing, 17500 and 17530 ask whether the picture misleads, not whether it carries a label.
Where AB 723 does reach multifamily
- Dispositions. When a community is sold through a broker, the offering memorandum and listing are promotional material for a sale. A removed utility pole on the hero shot needs a label and a link.
- Condo and for-sale product. Condo sell-outs and homes sold individually fall inside the text.
- Small multifamily on an MLS. A fourplex listed for sale is covered by the statute and, for California Regional MLS subscribers, by CRMLS Rule 11.5.2.
CRMLS Rule 11.5.2 in brief
Per CRMLS's FAQ (updated February 13, 2026), a subscriber who uploads an altered image must show the original immediately before or after it and label it "Photo Modified," "Virtually Staged," "Digitally Altered," "AI Altered" or a similar term in its description field. Two edits are barred outright: changes to real property elements such as flooring, cabinetry or landscape, unless the property will match by close, and changes to elements outside or visible from the property, such as utility poles and window views. The pole that only needs a label under the statute cannot go on CRMLS at all. There is no fine yet; the Rules Committee will revisit fines in 2026 (CRMLS FAQ). The rule binds MLS subscribers only, not ILS listings or property websites.
Sample labels and where to put the original
For rentals, borrow the statute's two parts: a label on or next to the image, and wording that says where the unaltered image is.
Website gallery caption: "Virtually staged. Furniture is digitally added. See the unaltered photo: example.com/originals/2br-b2."
ILS photo caption, where the gallery accepts captions: "Digitally altered: sky replaced. Original photos are on our website, Floor Plan B2."
| Surface | Label | Original |
|---|---|---|
| Property website | Caption on or directly under the image, visible without a click | Next image in the gallery, or a linked originals page per floor plan |
| ILS gallery | Photo caption field, if the ILS offers one | Link in the description to the originals page; otherwise send the unaltered photo |
| Print and signage | On the image | QR code to the originals page |
Labels only work if every channel shows the same photo set. In Brynson's analysis of 6,000 properties and 1.6 million units, nearly 89% of communities described themselves differently across listing sites, and although 97% of listings had been updated within the previous 90 days, conflicting mandatory fees, missing amenities and contradictory terms persisted. A label added on the website does not travel to copies already syndicated. For the full rule set, use the listing photo policy template; for other states, the virtual staging disclosure tracker.
How to set up a California photo disclosure workflow
A workflow that meets the AB 723 standard for sale marketing and applies the same discipline to rental listings.
- 1
Keep one archive of originals
Store every unedited photo per community and floor plan in one place, with the edited version linked to its source. Without the original you cannot meet the link requirement.
- 2
Classify each edit
Tag each image as adjustment only, disclosed alteration or not publishable, using the 10140.8 definition as the test.
- 3
Write the label and the originals link
Add a caption on or next to each altered image and a link or QR code to a page that clearly identifies the unaltered version.
- 4
Push the same set to every channel
Send the labeled images and captions to each ILS; where a gallery cannot carry the label, send the original instead.
- 5
Flag sale marketing separately
Route disposition, condo and MLS listings through the broker's review so the statutory format and CRMLS Rule 11.5.2 are met.
- 6
Recheck after every refresh and keep the record
Compare what each surface shows against the archive after each photo update, and record who approved each disclosure decision and when.
Compliance360 FrameCheck retrieves each photo's original from your own archive, shows the region that changed, flags possible virtual staging, shows where each image has been published from your website to the ILS, and records a reviewer's disclosure decision with the evidence. It never declares an image unaltered; a person decides. SiteArchiver captures your property websites daily and on change, so you can show which image and label a page displayed on a given date.
Frequently asked questions
On its text, no: BPC 10140.8 covers advertising for the sale of real property and never mentions leases. That is a reading, not a ruling, and misleading rental photos still fall under BPC 17500 and 17530.
AB 723 was chaptered on October 10, 2025 as Chapter 497, Statutes of 2025. BPC 10140.8 has been in effect since January 1, 2026, as shown in the DRE's Real Estate Law compilation and CRMLS's rule FAQ.
Yes, for covered sale advertising. The enacted text requires a link, URL or QR code to a public page that clearly identifies the original image, plus wording telling the viewer the originals are there.
An image changed with editing software or AI to add, remove or change elements such as furniture, appliances, flooring, paint color, landscape, utility poles or window views. Lighting, color correction, cropping, straightening and exposure changes are excluded if they do not change how the property is represented.
Yes, on its text. Broker marketing for a community sale, including offering memorandum photos, is promotional material for a sale, so altered images need the label and the originals link.
California Regional MLS's rule implementing AB 723 for its subscribers. Altered images need a label such as "Virtually Staged" and the original shown next to them; edits to real property elements are barred unless the property will match by close, and edits to outside elements such as utility poles are barred outright.
How we checked this
Written by the Brynson Research Team and checked against the primary sources below. Each source shows the date we last read it. We update this page when the rules change; see the change log.
- Real Estate Law (Business and Professions Code 10000 et seq.), as amended and in effect January 1, 2026: Sections 10131, 10131.01, 10140, 10140.6, 10140.8, 10176, 10177, California Department of Real Estate, 2026. Accessed 2026-10-22.
- Pertinent Excerpts from the California Codes: Business and Professions Code 17500 and 17530, California Department of Real Estate, 2025-12. Accessed 2026-10-22.
- AB 723 (Pellerin) bill analysis, version July 2, 2025, California Senate Judiciary Committee, 2025-07-15. Accessed 2026-10-22.
- AB 723 bill status: Chapter 497, Statutes of 2025, CalMatters Digital Democracy, 2025-10-10. Accessed 2026-10-22.
- Digitally Altered Images (New Rule 11.5.2) FAQs, California Regional Multiple Listing Service, 2026-02-13. Accessed 2026-10-22.
- AB 723 Made Simple: New Rules for Real Estate Photos, San Diego MLS, 2026. Accessed 2026-10-22.
Change log
- First published.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws and regulator guidance change; check the current rules for your properties with your counsel before acting.