DigiLease: A Decentralized Blockchain-Based Rental Platform with Privacy-Preserving Aadhaar Verification Using Zero-Knowledge Proofs

DigiLease represents a comprehensive solution to trust and transparency challenges in India’s rental housing market through blockchain technology and zero-knowledge cryptog-raphy. The system’s integration of Anon Aadhaar provides privacy-preserving identity verification compliant with Indian regulations, while smart contract automation eliminates in-termediary dependencies and reduces dispute potential. The dual-signature escrow mechanism ensures trustless payment processing with mathematical guarantees of fairness. Our contributions include: (1) novel application of zk-SNARKs to Aadhaar verification in rental contexts, (2) com-prehensive smart contract architecture for lease enforcement, (3) formal security analysis demonstrating robustness against common attack vectors, and (4) practical implementation con-siderations for large-scale deployment. The platform addresses critical pain points in traditional rental processes including identity fraud, payment disputes, and opacity, while respecting user privacy through crypto-graphic protocols. Performance benchmarks demonstrate prac-tical feasibility with proof generation times under 12 seconds and on-chain verification costs under 100,000 gas. Future research directions include Layer-2 scaling solu-tions for transaction throughput, AI-powered dispute reso-lution mechanisms, and integration with government land registries for comprehensive property management. As blockchain adoption accelerates, DigiLease demonstrates the transformative potential of decentralized systems combined with advanced cryptography in modernizing real estate trans-actions. The platform’s open architecture enables extension to commercial property leasing, vacation rentals, and co-living arrangements, positioning DigiLease as a foundational infras-tructure for India’s digital real estate economy.

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