Current boundary: the project has automated tests and a synthetic sample. It has not completed independent security review, housing-law review, or a real-world partner evaluation. Use synthetic data while assessing it.

The repair-record lifecycle

  1. Create a local case. The case stays on the operator’s device in an encrypted vault. The public website does not receive or store case data.
  2. Describe observable conditions. Record the location, what can be seen or heard, when it occurred, and how it affects use of the space. Keep conclusions separate from observations.
  3. Keep the communication trail. Add repair requests, delivery details, management responses, visits, work performed, and recurrence to the same chronology.
  4. Seal captures. Habitable preserves an original, computes a SHA-256 content hash, and records custody events. Timestamp tokens can be attached when a configured service is available.
  5. Review the whole-unit disclosure. Current packets include every issue, timeline entry, and capture in the opened unit vault. The operator can choose whether to embed sealed originals; packet notes state shared-copy metadata handling, while custody identities remain omitted.
  6. Give the recipient a check. A recipient can inspect the HTML designed for accessibility or the print-oriented PDF, then run the verifier against the signed bundle. Verification is a technical check, not a legal conclusion.

Three layers that should not be collapsed

Technical integrity

  • Do recorded hashes still match the packaged files?
  • Does the bundle signature validate against the included identity?
  • Is the custody sequence structurally consistent?

Human authority and meaning

  • Who controlled the signing identity?
  • Does a capture accurately represent the condition?
  • How should a local agency, advocate, or attorney use it?

A passing integrity check only answers the first group. The second group needs context, corroboration, trusted identities, and review under the recipient’s own rules.

What a packet contains

The synthetic packet is organized for reading rather than as a raw media dump. A current export covers the whole unit recorded in the opened case vault and includes:

  • issue summaries and the locations described by the operator;
  • an ordered history of conditions, repair notices, responses, visits, and recurrence;
  • every recorded capture, with its capture time and media type;
  • an evidence appendix with hashes, timestamp status, and custody checks;
  • a disclosure statement explaining what the export includes or withholds.

Shared copies are produced according to the configured metadata policy. Embedding sealed originals is optional and preserves their original bytes and metadata, which can include location. Issue/date selection is not currently available.

Inspect the artifact: open the synthetic sample packet with its signed bundle. It is evaluation material, not a record of a real housing matter.

Evaluate safely

Start with the safe repair documentation checklist. If a request begins in a text thread or property portal, use the maintenance request record-preservation guide before access or device changes. Then choose the review path that matches your role: tenant union, legal aid or independent reviewer, or housing inspector or code-enforcement staff.

When a local agency becomes part of the timeline, use the housing complaint and inspection records guide to keep agency identifiers, reports, findings, and status history distinct from tenant-created observations.

For implementation-level detail, read the project’s evidence method and threat model.