Yes, but starting January 1, 2027 you must label them. AB 2025 (Chapter 572, Statutes of 2026) adds Civil Code 1940.11, which requires anyone who uses a digitally altered or fully AI-generated image in a California rental ad to put a reasonably conspicuous disclosure on or next to the image, and, if the image started as a real photo, to include the unaltered original in the posting or a link, URL, or QR code to it. Routine edits like lighting, white balance, cropping, straightening, and exposure do not count as long as they do not change how the property is represented.
Updated October 12, 2026
This is general information, not legal advice. Talk to a California real estate or landlord-tenant attorney about your specific listing.
What AB 2025 requires (the short version)
- AB 2025 (Pellerin) is Chapter 572, Statutes of 2026. It was approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State on September 27, 2026.
- It adds Civil Code 1940.11 for rental ads and amends Business and Professions Code 10140.8, which covers sale ads.
- It takes effect January 1, 2027, the standard start date for a non-urgency bill signed in 2026.
- It applies to "a person" who includes a digitally altered image in "an advertisement or other promotional material for rental of real property." That covers owners, property managers, leasing agents, and anyone else running the ad. It is not limited to real estate licensees.
What counts as a "digitally altered image"
Civil Code 1940.11(a)(2) covers two kinds of images:
- An image fully generated through artificial intelligence software by or at the direction of a person.
- An existing image altered by or at the direction of a person, using photo editing software or AI, to add, remove, or change elements. The statute lists fixtures, furniture, appliances, flooring, walls, paint color, hardscape, landscape, facade, floor plans, and elements outside of or visible from the property, including streetlights, utility poles, views through windows, and neighboring properties.
In plain terms
Based on those listed examples, virtual staging (adding furniture), removing a tenant's belongings or clutter with software, changing paint or flooring colors, replacing a gray sky or a brown lawn, erasing power lines, or changing the view out a window all fall inside the definition as written.
What does NOT count (routine edits)
Under Civil Code 1940.11(a)(2)(B), an image is not "digitally altered" if only lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping, exposure, or other common photo editing adjustments are made "that do not change the representation of the real property."
The test is whether the edit changes how the property is represented, not which software was used.
The two things the ad must include
1. A disclosure on or next to the image
The ad must disclose that the image has been altered (1940.11(b)(1)). The disclosure must be "reasonably conspicuous and located on or adjacent to the image." The statute does not prescribe exact wording. One example of a label, offered only as an example: "Digitally altered image: virtually staged."
2. The original photo, or a link to it
The posting must include the unaltered version of the images the altered images were created from (1940.11(b)(2)(A)). Alternatively, it may include a link, URL, or QR code to a publicly accessible website that includes, and clearly identifies, the original unaltered image. If you use the link option, the disclosure must say the unaltered images can be accessed through the link, URL, or QR code.
When no original is required
The original-photo requirement does not apply to an image, architectural rendering, or artistic rendering that was not originally created with a "capture device" (1940.11(b)(2)(B)). A capture device is a device that can record photographs, audio, or video, including cameras and phones with built-in cameras (Business and Professions Code 22757.1). So a fully AI-generated image still needs the disclosure, but there is no camera original to post.
Who is responsible, and what happens if an ad does not comply
- The duty sits with the person who includes the altered image in the ad.
- For a real estate licensee, a violation is a violation of the Real Estate Law (1940.11(c)), which puts the issue in front of the Department of Real Estate.
- The section does not change existing false or misleading advertising law (1940.11(d)).
- The bill text does not set a specific dollar penalty for owners.
How this fits with the 2025 sale-listing rule (AB 723)
AB 723 (Chapter 497, Statutes of 2025) set disclosure rules for digitally altered images in licensee ads to sell real property, and it treated a leasehold longer than one year as a sale. AB 2025 removes those long leases from that rule, so rental ads of any length now fall under the new Civil Code 1940.11.
What owners should do before listing a rental in 2027
- Ask whoever edits your photos (photographer, agent, or you) which images were changed beyond routine lighting, color, crop, and exposure.
- Treat virtual staging, object removal, sky or lawn replacement, color changes to walls or floors, and edited views as altered images.
- Label each altered image on or next to the image, in text a viewer will actually notice.
- Keep the camera original for every altered image. Put it in the same posting, or host it on a public page that clearly identifies it as the original and link to it (link, URL, or QR code). If you use a link, say so in the disclosure.
- Check every place the ad appears: listing sites, the property website, social posts, flyers, and signage that uses photos. The rule covers "an advertisement or other promotional material."
- Fully AI-generated images with no camera original still need the disclosure.
- Do not alter move-in or move-out condition photos. Those document the unit's actual condition (see our guide to condition photos for security deposits).
- If you are not sure whether an edit "changes the representation" of the property, either skip the edit or disclose it.
If Bright Path manages your placement, ask your property manager how photo edits and disclosures are handled on your listing. For other rules that apply to your lease, see other required California rental disclosures and other recent California rental law changes.
How Bright Path handles listing photos
Bright Path offers tenant placement for a flat $1,200. As listed on our pricing page, it includes professional high-resolution photography, a dedicated website for the property, MLS (CRMLS) listing plus syndication to 25,000+ websites including Zillow, Apartments.com, Realtor.com, Trulia, and HotPads, social media promotion on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, weekly listing optimization, and a move-in property condition report with detailed photos and video. Learn more about how Bright Path markets and leases a rental and what a tenant placement fee covers.
Listing a rental in 2027? Bright Path's $1,200 tenant placement includes professional high-resolution photography, a dedicated property website, and MLS (CRMLS) listing with syndication to 25,000+ websites. Talk to us about getting your next listing ready, or see our pricing.
Sources
- AB 2025 chaptered bill text (Chapter 572, Statutes of 2026)
- AB 2025 status and history
- Business and Professions Code 22757.1 (capture device)
- AB 723 chaptered text (Chapter 497, Statutes of 2025)
- California Apartment Association: New law will require disclosures for digitally altered rental ads
Civil Code 1940.11 will not appear on the state's code display page until it takes effect, so the bill text is the best source for now.
This is general information, not legal advice. Talk to a California real estate or landlord-tenant attorney about your specific listing.
