united-states real-estate washington
Can a realtor take marketing photos of the interior of a rental for selling the property?
<p>Can a property manager allow a realtor to come into your place to take photos of the interior - including your furniture and personal items - to publish these online to sell the property?</p>

<p><a href="https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18&amp;full=true#59.18.150" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RCW 59.18.150(1)</a>, which governs residential tenancies, states</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The tenant shall not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord to
  enter into the dwelling unit in order to inspect the premises, make
  necessary or agreed repairs, alterations, or improvements, supply
  necessary or agreed services, or exhibit the dwelling unit to
  prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or
  contractors.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>and (6):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The landlord shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass
  the tenant, and shall provide notice before entry as provided in this
  subsection. Except in the case of emergency or if it is impracticable
  to do so, the landlord shall give the tenant at least two days'
  written notice of his or her intent to enter and shall enter only at
  reasonable times.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Assuming that you were given advance notice, entry is legal. There is no special provision prohibiting photographing a rental unit that contains a tenants property, so there is no statutory prohibition against this. If you can demonstrate that you were damaged by having your property photographed, you could sue the landlord. But I don't see what the damage would be. There is a common law basis for a lawsuit for public disclosure of embarrassing private facts, but it is unlikely that a realtor would publish photos that revealed an embarrassing private fact about you. There is also the tort of placing you in false public light, but again it's hard to see what fact a photograph of your furniture would fill that bill (perhaps there's a detail you're not mentioning).</p>
