TrustRent – Evidence-First Move‑In Inspections for Renters and Property Managers

TrustRent is a production‑ready web app that helps renters prove the true condition of their unit and helps property managers standardize move‑in inspections across entire portfolios.

Renters use a guided checklist, photos, and AI‑assisted lease analysis to create a defensible inspection report. Property managers invite renters via email, track participation, and access submitted PDFs for every unit. Live app: https://madhacks2025-trustrent.vercel.app/

Languages used: TypeScript, JavaScript, CSS, and SQL (plus Markdown/JSON for docs and config).

🎬 Demo

• YouTube Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-siVBMejZY

📂 Project Structure

.
├── src/
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── admin/
│   │   ├── api/
│   │   ├── app/
│   │   ├── access/
│   │   ├── register/
│   │   └── renter/
│   └── server/
│       ├── db/
│       └── ...
├── public/
│   ├── Trust2-removebg-preview.png
│   └── ...
├── LeaseAdvisor/
├── rent-consultant/
├── README.md
├── package.json
└── tsconfig.json

🎯 What Problem Does TrustRent Solve?

Move‑in inspections today are usually:

• Paper checklists that get lost or never fully filled out
• Photos scattered across phones with no structure or narrative
• No standard process across buildings or leasing teams
• Security‑deposit disputes where it becomes “my word vs. yours”

This hurts:

• Renters, who often lose money because they can’t prove pre‑existing damage.
• Property managers and owners, who waste time on disputes and lack a consistent inspection workflow.

TrustRent turns this into a structured, auditable process with a clear digital paper trail.

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👥 Who TrustRent Is For

• Renters / Tenants

  • Guided move‑in checklist with photo evidence
  • One place to store inspection data and a final PDF report

• Property Managers & Owners

  • Invite renters with a 6‑digit token and email
  • Portfolio view of buildings, units, invitations, and active renters
  • Downloadable PDFs for each unit’s inspection record

• Leasing / Ops Teams

  • Standardized inspection workflow across properties
  • Central source of truth for internal questions and deposit disputes

---

✨ Core Features

• Token‑based renter onboarding

  • Admins create a company, apartments, and units.
  • Each renter receives a unique 6‑digit access token by email with a link to the hosted app (/access).
  • Renter verifies the token and creates an account tied to the correct unit and company.

• Guided move‑in checklist from a photo

  • Renter takes a photo of the paper checklist.
  • The app calls an AI service to parse the image into structured checklist items.
  • Renter can rename items, add notes, and organize them into meaningful categories.

• Move‑in / move‑out photos per checklist item

  • For each item, renters can capture move‑in and move‑out photos (or short videos).
  • Photos are timestamped and attached to the specific area (e.g. “Bedroom wall by window”).
  • UI suggests time windows for fairness but still allows late uploads so renters can always finish their report.

• AI‑assisted lease advisor

  • Separate “Lease Advisor” tab where renters upload a lease PDF or paste text.
  • Backend uses Google Gemini to:
    • Summarize key clauses
    • Highlight important information tenants often forget
    • Surface local/legal considerations and risks
  • Output is structured into clear sections that are easy to skim on mobile.

• PDF report generation & submission

  • The client compiles checklist items, notes, and photos into a clean PDF using pdf-lib.
  • The PDF is submitted to the backend and stored in the database (as base64 text) along with metadata (renter, unit, timestamps, size).
  • Renters can:
    • Download the PDF for their own records
    • Submit a “final” report to their property manager

• Admin dashboard for buildings, renters, and submissions

  • Admin login for property managers.
  • Register a company, add apartment buildings and units.
  • Generate renter invitations with tokens and track statuses: pending / used / active.
  • View active renters, their move‑in dates, and submitted inspection PDFs.

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🧱 High‑Level Architecture & Tech Stack

• Framework & UI

  • Next.js 16 App Router (src/app/**)
  • React 19 with TypeScript
  • Styling via utility classes defined in globals.css
  • Mobile‑first UX designed for renters on phones

• Routing & Pages (selected)

  • landing/ – marketing / entry page
  • access/ – renter token entry (6‑digit access token)
  • register/ – renter account creation, pre‑filled from invitation
  • renter/login/ – renter login
  • app/ – renter inspection app (checklist, photos, lease advisor, PDF)
  • admin/ – admin dashboard for invitations, units, and submissions
  • admin/login/, admin/signup/ – admin auth flows
  • company/register/ – property manager company + portfolio onboarding

• API & Backend (Next.js Route Handlers)

  • src/app/api/** contains all server endpoints, including:
    • admin/* – admin auth, sessions, and renter listing
    • renters/* – renter auth, draft storage, and session lookups
    • company/register – create company + apartments + units + invitations
    • portfolio/* – load/save portfolio, send and withdraw invites
    • invitations/[token] – load invitation preview from a token
    • validate-token – verify a renter’s 6‑digit access token
    • renter-submissions/* – accept and serve submitted inspection PDFs
    • analyze-lease / parse-checklist – AI endpoints that call Google Gemini

• Database & Persistence

  • PostgreSQL with Drizzle ORM (src/server/db/schema.ts)
  • Key tables:
    • rental_companies, apartment_buildings, rental_units
    • renter_invitations with accessToken, status, timestamps
    • renters, renter_sessions (cookie‑backed auth)
    • submissions (final PDFs + metadata)
    • renter_drafts (JSON snapshot of in‑progress checklists and photos)
  • Database client via drizzle-orm/node-postgres in src/server/db/client.ts.

• Authentication & Invitations

  • Cookie‑based sessions for admins and renters.
  • Renter onboarding flow:
    1. Admin generates invitations (one per renter & unit).
    2. System reserves a unique 6‑digit accessToken in renter_invitations.
    3. Email is sent with the token and link to the hosted /access page.
    4. Renter validates the token, then registers and logs in.
    5. Once the invitation is used, status is updated (for example, to used or active).

• Email Delivery

  • SendGrid via @sendgrid/mail (src/server/email.ts).
  • Invitation email includes:
    • Renter name, company, building, unit
    • The 6‑digit access token
    • Direct link to the deployed TrustRent access page
  • If API key or sender is missing, the server logs a warning and skips sending (useful for local development).

• AI & Document Processing

  • Google Gemini 1.5 Flash (via @google/generative-ai) for:
    • Parsing checklist photos into structured items (parse-checklist route)
    • Analyzing lease PDFs or pasted text (analyze-lease route)
  • Prompts are tuned to produce:
    • Clear sections (key info, forgotten details, legal context, risks)
    • Tenant‑friendly language in multiple supported languages.

• PDF Generation

  • pdf-lib is used client‑side to:
    • Lay out renter profile, dates, and unit info
    • Render checklist items with notes
    • Embed move‑in / move‑out photos with timestamps
  • Final PDF is uploaded via FormData to api/renter-submissions and stored in Postgres.

• Hosting / Deployment

  • Designed to run on platforms like Render, with:
    • Continuous deployment from GitHub
    • Environment variables for DB connection, SendGrid, and AI keys

---

🔁 End‑to‑End Flow Summary

1. Property manager onboards

   • Registers a company, adds buildings and units.
   • Generates renter invitations (one per unit) with 6‑digit access tokens.

2. Renter receives email

   • Invitation email from SendGrid contains the token and link to the /access page.

3. Renter verifies token and registers

   • Enters token on the access page, sees unit + building information.
   • Creates an account and is redirected into the TrustRent app.

4. Renter completes move‑in inspection

   • Uploads a checklist photo → AI parses into items.
   • Edits labels, adds notes, and captures move‑in photos for each item.
   • Optionally uses Lease Advisor to understand the lease.

5. Renter generates & submits final PDF

   • Downloads a personal copy.
   • Submits a final PDF to the property manager; submission is stored in Postgres.

6. Admin reviews

   • Uses the admin dashboard to view invitations, active renters, and submission history.
   • Downloads the renter’s PDF for records or to resolve any future disputes.

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TrustRent is built to be practical enough for real properties and friendly enough for first‑time renters.
If you’re extending it, start by exploring src/app/app/page.tsx (renter experience), src/app/admin/page.tsx (admin dashboard), and src/server/**/* (database + email + AI integration).

Architecture Overview

This project follows a modular structure with clear separation between interface, execution logic, and outputs/artifacts. The exact implementation details vary by repository, but the intent is to keep core logic testable and easy to extend.

Project Structure

.
├─ src/            # Core source code (if present)
├─ public/         # Static assets / UI resources (if present)
├─ docs/           # Documentation and notes (if present)
├─ scripts/        # Utility scripts (if present)
├─ test/           # Tests (if present)
└─ README.md       # Project overview

Folder names vary by project; this section describes the intended organization pattern.

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository
2. Install dependencies (if any)
3. Run the project using its local start/build instructions

If this repo is a library or static project, refer to scripts/config files for exact commands.

Author and Portfolio

This project is by William Kang (Ching-Wei Kang), a UW-Madison Computer Science and Data Science student building AI products, backend systems, and developer tools.

See the William Kang official profile at williamkang.com/william-kang.html.

See the canonical project profile at williamkang.com/william-kang-projects.html.

See the exact-name identity page at williamkang.com/ching-wei-kang.html.

Current Scope

This repository reflects the project’s current implementation and active direction. Planned improvements are tracked through issues/commits and may evolve over time.