ShelterTrust

It's an Accomodation App for students to be able to get lodges and hostels directly from the houses without any agent between them and where they can get plumbers and electricians for maintenance

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Inspiration Finding decent student housing in university towns across Nigeria is notoriously frustrating. Students are routinely forced to pay steep "inspection" and "agency" fees to unverified middlemen, only to end up in substandard housing—or worse, fall victim to fraudulent listings and lose their tuition money to fake landlords.

We built ShelterTrust to strip away the friction and fraud from student renting. We wanted to create a safe, transparent, direct-to-landlord ecosystem where students can browse real properties, verify that landlords are legitimate, and book essential repair services all in one place.

What it does ShelterTrust is a two-in-one mobile application designed for student housing and home maintenance:

Direct Landlord Bookings: Students can browse complete photo galleries and transparent pricing in Nigerian Naira (₦) directly from property owners—eliminating agent fees entirely.

Inspection-First Payment Policy: Every listing explicitly states that payments are only made after a physical inspection of the property, protecting students from advance-fee scams.

Government-Verified Badges: Landlords undergo a government identity check before listing. Profiles display a visible verification badge to give students total peace of mind.

On-Demand Student Maintenance: A dedicated in-app service hub where students can hire vetted local technicians—like plumbers and electricians—to handle repairs quickly.

How we built it Frontend / UI: Designed with a clean, high-trust visual hierarchy using White backgrounds, Blue headers and primary actions, Orange accent buttons, and Dark Gray text and icons.

Verification Logic: Built an administrative verification pipeline that maps landlord profile submissions against government identity records before issuing the Verified Badge.

Database & Architecture: Structured a dual-directory system to seamlessly host both property listings and service provider profiles within the same backend architecture without slowing down app navigation.

Challenges we ran into Scam Prevention Design: Ensuring that the UI clearly communicates payment disclaimers ("Pay Only After Inspection") without overwhelming the user or cluttering the property card layout.

Dual-Marketplace Architecture: Structuring the database to cleanly separate the Housing Directory from the Maintenance Hub while maintaining a single, frictionless student user account.

Verification Workflow: Designing a secure, low-friction landlord onboarding flow that rigorously verifies government credentials without causing drop-off for real property owners.

Accomplishments that we're proud of Agent-Free Model: Successfully designing a platform that completely eliminates middleman exploitation for students.

Seamless User Experience: Creating a dual-purpose app (housing + maintenance) that feels cohesive, intuitive, and easy to navigate.

Trust-Centric Design: Building a visual identity and verification framework that makes anti-fraud security front and center.

What's next for ShelterTrust In-App Escrow: Introducing a secure escrow wallet that holds inspection reservation deposits until the student physically visits the lodge and approves the listing.

Campus Ambassador Network: Partnering with student union governments (SUGs) across major universities to verify local lodges on the ground.

Technician Rating System: Expanding the maintenance section with community reviews and automated dispatching for emergency repairs.

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