Every apartment complex I've looked at (bay area) has required me to leave my photo ID with them at the leasing office while one of them took me on a tour to show me the apartment.
Is this condominiums/highrises? When I was looking for my apartment here no one ever asked for that. But I also didn't really look at places that had a leasing office either.
Not necessarily in a high-rise. Basically a building or bunch of buildings with apartments that a single company owns and maintains and rents out. They tend to have a leasing office.