Rentoner
A peer-to-peer rental marketplace — rent what you need instead of buying it, and earn from what you own but don't use. Across furniture, electronics, bikes, cars and more, Rentoner connects owners with renters and handles KYC, deposits, masked calling, condition videos and monthly auto-pay. This document specifies the Customer app, the Owner app, and the Super-Admin panel.
1. Overview
1.1 Purpose
This document defines the product requirements for Rentoner, a marketplace that bridges the gap between needing an item and buying one. A renter finds the item they need — a sofa, a DSLR, a bike, a car — and rents it on a monthly basis instead of purchasing; an owner lists an item that's sitting idle and earns rent on it. Rentoner sits in the middle and runs the trust layer: KYC, security deposits, masked calling, condition videos for damage protection, and automatic monthly rent collection. The platform spans a Customer app, an Owner app, and a web-based Super-Admin panel.
1.2 Product vision
To make renting the default for things people only need for a while — cheaper for the renter, income for the owner, and safe for both because Rentoner verifies identity, holds a deposit, records condition on handover and return, and keeps every contact masked. One marketplace, many categories, all the trust built in.
1.3 Categories
The four primary categories at launch are Furniture, Electronics, Bike rental and Car rental. Additional categories — Medical equipment, Construction equipment, Talent verification, Miscellaneous — sit below them, and the Super Admin can add new categories and let owners list new product types at any time.
1.4 Scope
In scope: phone-OTP login with location capture; category browsing & product detail; an immediate-delivery rate search; masked owner calling; Aadhaar KYC (upload + video); checkout with monthly rent, a product-based security deposit, a platform fee and UPI Autopay e-mandate; delivery or self-pickup; condition videos on handover and return; owner listing & payouts; and the Super-Admin panel (users, owners, products, categories, rentals, payments & gateways, the condition-video library with retention, and reports).
Out of scope (v1): outright sale of items, international operations, in-app delivery-fleet management, and a public web storefront beyond the admin/SEO site.
2. Personas
| Persona | Description | Primary goals |
|---|---|---|
| Customer / Renter | Needs an item for a while; prefers renting to buying. | Find a verified item nearby, fair monthly rent, easy KYC & auto-pay, safe handover. |
| Owner / Lister | Has idle items to rent out for income. | List quickly, get verified renters, monthly rent on time, protection against damage. |
| Super Admin | Operates the marketplace. | Moderate listings, manage categories & fees, oversee payments, deposits & videos. |
| Support / Ops | Handles disputes & verification. | Resolve damage claims using condition videos, manage refunds of deposits. |
3. Onboarding, Location & Login
After the splash and a short onboarding carousel, the app requests location access immediately — both for customers and owners — so Rentoner knows where an item is being rented from. This geolocation (and IP) is captured for fraud and theft protection alongside the renter's Aadhaar. The user then signs in with a phone number and OTP (no password). See onboarding → KYC → checkout play out in the demo →
4. Categories & Discovery
The home screen presents the categories — Furniture, Electronics, Bike rental, Car rental on top, then Medical equipment, Construction equipment, Talent verification and Miscellaneous. Opening a category shows products with image, monthly rent and location. A rate / immediate-delivery search is available in both the Customer and Owner apps — for a renter who needs something delivered urgently, or an owner who can fulfil it fast. Each product opens to a full detail page.
5. Product Detail & Masked Calling
A product page shows full information, real photos, specifications, the monthly rent and the security deposit. Before committing, the renter can call the owner on a masked number — the call routes through Rentoner, never exposing either party's personal number — to ask questions, arrange to meet and inspect the item, and only then proceed. Clear terms & conditions make the renter responsible for keeping the item undamaged.
6. KYC Verification
When the renter taps Rent it now, they complete KYC: upload their Aadhaar card and record a short video holding the Aadhaar (liveness + identity). KYC must pass before payment, giving the owner and the platform a verified identity on record for every rental — the backbone of trust and the first line of recourse in case of theft.
7. Checkout — Deposit, Platform Fee & E-mandate
Checkout itemises the first monthly rent, a refundable security deposit sized to the product (e.g. ₹5,000–₹15,000 for a bike, less for a DSLR), a platform fee, and taxes. The renter chooses home delivery or self-pickup. Crucially, they set up a UPI Autopay e-mandate so monthly rent is auto-debited going forward. A platform fee is charged to both the renter and the owner (configurable from Admin, e.g. ₹50+) to cover SMS, server and operating costs.
| Line | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Monthly rent | First month at checkout; thereafter via UPI Autopay e-mandate. |
| Security deposit | Refundable, product-based; held by Rentoner and returned at vacate (less damages). |
| Platform fee | Charged to both renter & owner; amount set in Admin. |
| Fulfilment | Home delivery or self-pickup, chosen at checkout. |
8. Condition Videos & Damage Protection
To protect both sides, condition is recorded on video at every handover. When the item is delivered or picked up, the renter records a short video showing its condition on receipt. When it is returned, the owner records a video of the condition they received it in. If a damage claim arises, the two videos are compared and the deposit adjusted accordingly. Every video is timestamped and linked to the rental.
9. Owner App
Owners list items in the Owner app — choosing a category and adding real photos and quality, full specifications, the expected monthly rent and the security deposit. (Real-photo quality is enforced via moderation.) Owners track their listings and their rented-out items, receive monthly rent from renters via the e-mandate, upload the return condition video, and view payouts. The rate/immediate-delivery search is available here too.
10. Super Admin
The Super-Admin panel is the operations hub. Admins see a dashboard of all transactions, users, owners and products; moderate & approve listings (and can negotiate with owners); add categories and product types; manage payment gateways, the platform fee and deposit defaults; review rentals and deposits; access the condition-video library; and export reports.
11. Video Storage & Retention
All condition videos taken during a rental are uploaded to the platform and surfaced in the Admin video library. Admins can delete a video manually, and every video auto-deletes after ~60 days via a storage lifecycle policy — so the platform doesn't accumulate storage bulk over time, while still keeping videos long enough to resolve any handover dispute.
12. Non-Functional Requirements
Performance
Search & category load under 2 seconds; KYC & checkout interactive under 1.5 seconds.
KYC & identity
Aadhaar handling per UIDAI norms, encrypted document & video storage, geolocation captured for fraud/theft.
Security & privacy
Masked calling (no personal numbers exposed), encrypted PII, RBAC for admin.
Payments & e-mandate
Razorpay UPI Autopay/e-mandate for monthly rent, escrow-held deposits, PCI-aligned handling.
Video lifecycle
Condition videos auto-expire at ~60 days; manual delete; access-controlled & audit-logged.
Compliance & observability
GST-compliant billing, RBI mandate norms, audit logs for KYC, deposits, payouts & disputes.
13. Rental Status Model
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Listed | Owner submitted; pending admin moderation. |
| Live | Approved; visible to renters. |
| KYC pending | Renter started booking; Aadhaar + video verification in progress. |
| Booked | Paid: first rent + deposit + platform fee; e-mandate set. |
| Out (rented) | Delivered/picked-up; receipt condition video recorded; monthly rent running. |
| Returned | Owner received item; return condition video recorded. |
| Closed | Deposit reconciled (less any damages) & refunded. |
| Disputed | Damage claim; videos compared, resolved per policy. |
14. Open Questions
- KYC provider — DigiLocker Aadhaar eKYC vs a licensed KYC vendor; and how strict is the video-liveness check at launch?
- Deposit handling — Rentoner escrow vs pass-through to owner; and the damage-claim adjudication SLA.
- Platform fee model — flat (₹50) vs percentage, and split between renter and owner.
- E-mandate failure handling — retries, grace period, and what happens to the item on non-payment.
- Delivery — own logistics, a 3PL partner, or owner-arranged; and how immediate "rate search" fulfilment works.
- Video retention — confirm 60-day auto-delete vs longer for disputed rentals, and storage region.