Leasing agents: why the move-in photos shouldn't come from you

When a Los Angeles owner signs a new tenant through you, one more request often follows the lease: can you take the move-in photos? It sounds like a small favor. You already have the keys, you know the unit, and since AB 2801 the owner needs those photos anyway. As far as we know, no California rule stops you from saying yes. The better question is whether you want your name on that file a year from now.

Here is why many agents hand the record to someone else, and what they gain by doing it. General information, not legal advice.

The owner needs a record that holds up

Under Civil Code 1950.5, landlords photograph the unit at the start of every tenancy beginning on or after July 1, 2025, and again after move-out, before and after any repairs or cleaning. Deductions from the deposit have to be backed by those photos, and the landlord carries "the burden of proof as to the reasonableness of the amounts claimed". The move-in record is the owner's evidence. Its value depends on how a tenant, and if it comes to that a small claims judge, will read it.

Your photos read as the owner's side

California's agency disclosure law describes what an agent owes the client as "a fiduciary duty of utmost care, integrity, honesty, and loyalty". That is exactly what the owner hired you for. It is also why a record made by you reads as a record made by the owner. Under Evidence Code 780, a court may weigh "the existence or nonexistence of a bias, interest, or other motive", and a tenant contesting a deduction will start with who held the camera.

A year later, the questions come to you

Deposit disputes begin after move-out, often more than a year after the lease you closed. If the photos are yours, so are the questions: why one room has three shots and the next has none, whether that carpet stain was there on day one, when exactly you were in the unit. That is unpaid time on a deal you closed long ago, with a client relationship at stake.

Recommending a neutral record is a service in itself

Pointing the owner to an independent move-in record keeps you where you belong, as the professional who saw the risk early. The owner gets a file that is much harder to dismiss as one-sided. The tenant sees a document that was not made by the other party. And you stay out of a dispute you have no reason to be part of.

What to check before you recommend anyone

• No stake in the outcome: paid the same whatever the report says, and paying you nothing for the referral.
• The same structure at move-in and at move-out, element by element, so the two records compare line by line.
• Every element photographed, intact ones included, with dated photos and a video walkthrough.
• Fast delivery, before the tenant has unpacked, and records kept for years.
• Clear about what it is not: a condition record documents what is visible, it is not a home inspection.

The takeaway. You can take the move-in photos, but your loyalty to the owner is exactly what weakens them as evidence. Recommending an independent record protects the owner's deposit and keeps you out of the dispute. How Scoutmyplace works with agents, with no referral fees and nothing for you to do on site, is on the page for real estate agents.