California’s New "Digitally Altered" Listing Photo Law
If you have ever toured a place in California and thought, “This is not what I saw online,” the state just stepped in.
Starting January 1, 2026, Assembly Bill 723 requires agents and brokers to clearly disclose when listing photos have been digitally altered, including with AI. It also requires access to the original, unedited photo so buyers can compare. In other words, if the photo was changed in a meaningful way, you should be able to tell.
What AB 723 Requires
The law applies when edits add, remove, or change elements of the home. That includes things like virtual staging, swapping finishes, removing objects, changing landscaping, or altering views.
When an image is altered, the listing needs a clear disclosure that the photo has been edited. And the agent has to provide the original photo either right next to it, or through a link or QR code where the original is easy to find.
What It Does Not Cover
AB 723 is about edits done after the photo is taken. It does not address wide-angle lenses, which can still make rooms feel bigger online than they are in person. It also does not require disclosure for basic cleanup edits like color correction, cropping, straightening, or lighting adjustments, as long as they do not change what the property is. So no, this does not end all photo tricks.
Why Now?
Photo editing has always been part of real estate. The difference today is how easy it has become.
AI tools make it simple to create “better” photos without much effort or skill. And sometimes that crosses from polishing into inventing. The reporting behind AB 723 includes an example where a buyer drove to a home expecting a finished kitchen, only to find an empty room that did not match the listing photos.
That is the gap the law is trying to close.
What You Will Start Seeing In Listings
You will probably notice more labels like “digitally altered” or “virtually staged,” especially on bigger listing platforms that pull from the MLS. MLS systems are also updating their upload flows so agents can toggle whether an image is altered and add a watermark automatically.
Over time, this should make it harder for altered photos to blend in quietly.
Is There Enforcement?
There is no simple, automatic fine written into the law. But it can still be enforced through the California Department of Real Estate’s disciplinary process, depending on how serious the violation is. In practice, the bigger risk for agents is not a small penalty. It is the consequences that come with misleading advertising.
What Buyers Should Do
The easiest way to use AB 723 is simple: if you see an altered photo, go look for the original.
Virtual staging is not always bad. It can help you imagine layout and furniture. But if finishes, views, or permanent features look dramatically better in the edited version, that is where you should slow down and verify.
If the original photo is hard to find, that is the point where the listing should feel suspicious.
The Shift
Real estate has always had some marketing gloss. AB 723 puts a line in the sand: you can still make things look good, but you cannot make them up.
To be honest, that is a win for anyone who has ever wasted a Saturday on a “dream home” that was mostly Photoshop.
If you are browsing SF apartments and want a more reality-first experience, that is a big part of why we built Iris. Clear listings and less time chasing places that look nothing like the post.