Privacy Policy

1. Introduction, Legal Framework & Scope

Welcome to RentVahi (“Platform”, “we”, “us”, or “our”), an online rental management platform headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) outlines how we collect, use, store, process, and protect information when you visit our website at rentvahi.com, use the RentVahi web application, access our mobile applications, or utilize our automated WhatsApp billing and PDF receipt delivery services.

This Policy is published pursuant to and in compliance with:

• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA);
• Section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000;
• The Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 (“SPDI Rules”);
• The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

2. Categories of Information We Collect

To provide rental ledger accounting, electricity meter computations, and PDF receipt services, we collect the following categories of data:

2.1 Information Landlords Provide Directly

• Account Profile: Full name, mobile phone number, email address, password hash, preferred language (English, Hindi, or Gujarati).
• Property & Asset Identifiers: Property names, physical addresses, unit numbers (flats, commercial shops, PG beds/rooms), property types, and bank/UPI payment handles (e.g. UPI ID or account number) provided solely for display on tenant rent receipts.

2.2 Tenancy & Accounting Records

• Tenant Profiles: Tenant names, contact telephone/WhatsApp numbers, move-in dates, agreed monthly rental amount, security deposit balances, and lease duration.
• Statutory Verification & Tax Data: Landlord Permanent Account Number (PAN) where voluntarily added to enable tenants to claim House Rent Allowance (HRA) tax deductions under Section 10(13A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• Payment Acknowledgments: Dates of payment, recorded mode of payment (Cash, UPI, NEFT, Cheque), partial payment allocations, and landlord confirmation timestamps.

2.3 Utility & Electricity Sub-Meter Metrics

Sub-meter identifiers, previous reading values, current reading values, calculated units consumed, tariff rates per unit applied by the landlord, and calculation logs.

2.4 Automatically Collected Telemetry & Device Data

When interacting with our cloud application, our servers automatically log Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser user-agent, operating system details, referring URL, time of access, and system crash diagnostics to maintain system security.

3. Purpose and Legal Grounds for Data Processing

We process information solely for lawful purposes under Section 4 and Section 6 of the DPDPA 2023:

4. Automated WhatsApp & SMS Communications

RentVahi integrates with enterprise messaging APIs (including the Meta WhatsApp Business Cloud API) to send transactional messages, such as:

• Official PDF Rent Receipts with serial number and landlord signature mark;
• Due-date rental notifications and friendly balance reminders;
• Electricity sub-meter consumption breakdowns with previous and current readings.

These messages are purely transactional in nature and are sent only to telephone numbers registered by the landlord. Tenants may opt out of automated notifications at any time by replying “STOP” or contacting our grievance desk.

5. Sub-Processors, Data Sharing & Third Parties

We do NOT sell, rent, or trade personal data or rental ledgers to any third-party advertisers, data aggregators, or lending brokers.

We share data strictly with trusted technical service providers necessary to operate the platform:

• Google Cloud & Firebase: Provides encrypted relational database storage, authentication, and hosting under ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, and SOC 1/2/3 certifications.
• Meta Platforms (WhatsApp Business API): Dispatches transactional notifications and encrypted receipt links.
• Statutory Authorities: We may disclose data where required by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction or law enforcement authorities under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act.

6. Cryptographic Data Security Standards

RentVahi employs enterprise-grade technical and organizational safeguards conforming to Rule 8 of the SPDI Rules, 2011:

• Encryption in Transit: All HTTP communications are strictly enforced with Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.3) with 256-bit encryption.
• Encryption at Rest: All stored database documents, backups, and attachments are encrypted using AES-256 standards.
• Tenant-Level Isolation: Database security rules enforce partition checks; no user can access, query, or view records of another property owner or unrelated tenant.
• Access Controls: Administrative access requires multi-factor authentication (MFA) and is restricted to essential engineering personnel.

7. Data Retention & Account Erasure Policy

We retain personal data and accounting ledgers for the active duration of your subscription and for a reasonable period thereafter to enable you to export tax statements or re-activate your units.

Right to Erasure (Account Deletion): You may request permanent deletion of your account, properties, tenant records, and receipts at any time by emailing privacy@rentvahi.com. Upon receipt of a verified request, all active records will be permanently purged from production databases within thirty (30) business days, except where retention is mandated by applicable tax and accounting laws.

8. Your Statutory Rights under DPDPA 2023

Under Chapter III of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, data principals (both landlords and tenants) possess the following rights:

• Right to Access: The right to obtain a summary of personal data processed and identities of sub-processors.
• Right to Correction & Updating: The right to rectify inaccurate, misleading, or outdated personal information.
• Right to Erasure: The right to have personal data erased when the purpose of collection is fulfilled.
• Right of Grievance Redressal: The right to readily available grievance redressal provided by our designated officer.
• Right to Nominate: The right to nominate an individual to exercise rights on your behalf in the event of death or incapacity.

9. Cookies, Local Storage & Analytical Trackers

RentVahi utilizes essential browser cookies and Local Storage keys (such as rentvahi_lang for preferred language storage and secure authentication tokens) to maintain logged-in sessions. We do not use third-party behavioral advertising cookies or cross-site tracking pixels.

10. Children’s Privacy

Our services are strictly designed for property owners, property managers, and adult tenants aged 18 years or older. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you believe a minor has submitted personal records, please notify our Grievance Officer immediately for prompt erasure.

11. Policy Modifications and Updates

We reserve the right to revise this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect technological developments, legislative updates, or changes in our operational procedures. When changes occur, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this document and post a prominent notice on the platform dashboard.

12. Statutory Grievance Redressal Officer

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Rule 5(9) of the SPDI Rules, 2011, and Section 13 of the DPDPA 2023, the details of the designated Grievance Officer are set forth below: