New CA Law Imposes New Rules On Photos In Real Estate Listings

A new law in California aims to protect consumers and make the house-hunting process easier by placing restrictions on real estate listings when it comes to digitally altered photos.

AB 723, authored by Assembly Member Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz), took effect on Jan. 1.

Real estate agents and brokers who use digitally altered or AI-edited images in home listings are now required to include a “reasonably conspicuous” disclosure stating that the image has been altered.

Since the law was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October, real estate companies, photography firms and Multiple Listing Services — which distribute listings to sites such as Zillow and Redfin — have been working to understand and comply with the new requirements.

"This bill strengthens consumer protections in real estate by requiring disclosure when listing images are digitally altered," Pellerin wrote on social media after its passage.

Pellerin told the San Francisco Chronicle that the idea came from her former chief of staff, Ashley Labar.

In 2024, Labar drove about an hour from her home in Sacramento to Ripon in San Joaquin County with her sick daughter to tour a house she had seen online and was considering as a future home.

When they arrived, the kitchen prominently featured in the listing photos was nowhere to be found. Instead, the space was largely empty — with no cabinets, countertops or appliances, aside from a lone range hood.

Labar said the realtors did not disclose the condition of the space. The previous owner had used a makeshift kitchen

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” Pellerin told the newspaper. “In the course of our hearings, we heard from other people” who had similar experiences. “A person told us about (a photo of) a backyard that had a full-on beautiful swimming pool. There was no pool. There was a yard full of weeds.”

Here's exactly what the new law will entail:

• Require real estate brokers or salespeople — or anyone acting on their behalf — to clearly disclose when an advertisement includes a digitally altered image, with the notice placed on or adjacent to the image.
• Require brokers or salespeople who post digitally altered images on websites to also include an unaltered version of the image or a link to the original photo.
• Define a “digitally altered image” as a still photo modified using editing software or artificial intelligence to add, remove or change physical features of a property, such as furniture, appliances, flooring or walls.
• Exempt common photo adjustments — including lighting, color correction, cropping, straightening and sharpening — that do not alter the condition of the property.