Renting out?
Protect your property.
AB 2801 made move-in documentation a legal requirement. $15 per move-out report keeps you compliant.
Since January 2025, the burden of justifying every deposit deduction rests with the landlord. You must produce dated photographic or video evidence of unit condition before and after tenancy. “Automatic” cleaning fees are no longer permissible. If you cannot demonstrate the unit’s condition with admissible evidence, the deduction is presumed unlawful.
Standard iPhone photos, even genuinely unedited ones, are increasingly inadmissible as the sole basis for a deduction. Every 2026 phone ships with native AI editing. Opposing counsel only has to suggest a photo could have been altered. Sealed evidence, captured at move-in and again at move-out by the same independent timestamp authority, is the only documentation that consistently holds in 2026.
$15 per move-out report. A move-in capture and a move-out capture, sealed by the same independent authority, with the verification URLs filed alongside the deposit accounting. When a tenant disputes a deduction, you point at the URLs and the argument ends.
See a sample compliance report
Common questions
What does AB 2801 actually require?
California Assembly Bill 2801 (effective January 1, 2025) shifted the burden of proof for any deposit deduction onto the landlord. You must produce dated photographic or video evidence of unit condition before and after tenancy. “Automatic” cleaning fees applied to every move-out are explicitly no longer permissible. Each charge must map to actual condition, not policy.
Why doesn’t the iPhone walkthrough I’ve always done count?
It still might. The legal trend is clear, and it’s moving away from standard photos. Every smartphone shipped in 2025 and 2026 includes native generative photo editing built into the camera roll. A tenant’s attorney does not have to prove your photos were altered. They only have to argue they could have been. In an increasing number of California small-claims courtrooms, that argument wins.
What does a compliance report cost?
$15 per move-out report. That covers a move-in capture and a move-out capture, sealed by the same independent timestamp authority, with the verification URLs to file alongside your deposit accounting. Four-year retention matches California’s statute of limitations on lease disputes.
My insurance carrier asked about cryptographic provenance. What is that?
Several major California rental-property insurers began requiring cryptographically sealed evidence for property- damage claims in late 2025. The seals on RenterSeal records are RFC 3161 compliant, the same standard most property and casualty adjusters now accept. The verification URL on the report is what you provide to the adjuster.
A tenant just sent me a verification URL. What is it?
A sealed video record of unit condition, captured by the tenant. Its hash, location, and timestamp are bound together by an independent third party. Neither the tenant nor RenterSeal can backdate or alter the recording. If you contest it, contest what’s depicted in the video, not the authenticity of the seal. The latter argument fails before it begins.
Moving in? Protect yourself.