EasyFind (MUT Edition)

A web-based student accommodation platform for Murang'a University of Technology, connecting students, landlords, verification agents, and an administrator.

Built with PHP 8 (PDO/MySQL), vanilla JS, and hand-written CSS — no framework required, runs on any standard XAMPP/LAMP stack.

1. Requirements

• PHP 8.x with the pdo_mysql extension
• MySQL 5.7+/MariaDB
• Apache (XAMPP, WAMP, or any LAMP stack)

2. Setup

1. Copy the EasyFind/ folder into your server's web root (e.g. htdocs/ for XAMPP).
2. Create the database and tables:

   mysql -u root -p < database/easyfind.sql

3. Edit includes/db.php if your MySQL username/password differ from the defaults (root / empty password).
4. Seed demo accounts (admin, landlord, agent, student) with working hashed passwords:

   php database/seed.php

   or visit http://localhost/EasyFind/database/seed.php in your browser.
5. Visit http://localhost/EasyFind/index.php.

All demo accounts use the password Password123:

Role	Email
Admin	admin@easyfind.mut
Landlord	john.kamau@example.com
Agent	mary.agent@easyfind.mut
Student	alice.student@example.com

3. Folder Structure

EasyFind/
├── index.php              Homepage
├── login.php / register.php / logout.php
├── student/                Student dashboard, search, property view, reservations, profile
├── landlord/                Landlord dashboard, add/edit/delete property, reservations, analytics
├── agent/                   Agent dashboard, verify/reject properties, reports
├── admin/                   Admin dashboard, manage users/properties/reports
├── uploads/property_images/ Uploaded room photos
├── assets/css|js|images/    Stylesheet (maroon/green brand), placeholder image
├── includes/                db.php, auth.php, navbar.php, footer.php
└── database/                easyfind.sql (schema), seed.php (demo accounts)

4. How the roles work

• Students register instantly and can search/filter listings, view full property details, reserve a vacant room, view/cancel their reservations, and edit their profile.
• Landlords register but start with status = pending and must be approved by an admin before they can log in. Once active they can add properties (which start as Pending verification), upload photos, edit/delete listings, manage incoming reservations, and view simple analytics.
• Verification Agents review pending properties, view photos/details, and verify or reject each one with written remarks (saved to verification_reports). Verified listings get the green "Verified" badge shown across the site.
• Admins approve/suspend landlord and other accounts, assign agents to properties, remove fake/rejected listings, and view platform-wide reports (listings by location/room type, reservation status breakdown, recent verification activity).

5. Notes & next steps

• Passwords are hashed with PHP's password_hash()/password_verify().
• All queries use PDO prepared statements to prevent SQL injection.
• Image uploads are restricted to jpg/jpeg/png/webp and stored under uploads/property_images/.
• This is a working functional scaffold covering every module in the project proposal. Items listed under "Future Features" in the original proposal (Google Maps, M-PESA, WhatsApp contact, SMS/email alerts, AI recommendations, QR verification, PWA support) are intentionally left for a later phase.