Blockchain-based Rental Documentation Management with Audit Support

TL;DR

This paper proposes a blockchain-based system using Hyperledger Fabric to manage rental documentation, ensuring transparency, immutability, and auditability in Portugal's rental market.

Contribution

It introduces a novel blockchain solution for rental documentation management that addresses legal compliance, transparency, and audit support in a complex regulatory environment.

Findings

Immutability of rental records is achieved.

System supports audit requests and traceability.

Enhances transparency and regulatory compliance.

Abstract

Document management in the rental market is a critical process to ensure the accuracy of financial transactions and regulatory compliance in the sector. In Portugal, the challenges include the complexity of legislation, particularly GDPR non-compliance, lack of transparency, and bureaucratic process inefficiency. With this in mind, a solution based on Hyperledger Fabric, a blockchain platform, is presented for the implementation of a document management system for the rental process. This system oversees the rental process, which consists of three phases: the application for a property by the prospective tenant through the upload of necessary documents, acceptance/rejection by the landlord of various received applications, and the creation of a report by the system, which only the auditor can request and view. The system smart contract records metadata associated with the documents (hash, owner) and coordinates requests for file access by landlords to prospective tenants. Thus, the system is responsible for creating immutable and traceable records of the entire process. The underlying platform serves as the foundation for conducting future audits. After the landlord verifies the files and accepts the rental proposal, any authorised auditor can request a report for a property by accessing the records through the final report, which includes all events that occurred during the process.