<!-- Author: Simon-Pierre Boucher — contact@spboucher.ai -->

# Rent-Ka

**www.rent-ka.com** — Apartments and homes for rent across **Canada outside
Québec** (Ontario first, national expansion in progress). A Groupe KA
service, sister site of [Lou-Ka](https://www.lou-ka.com) (Québec rentals)
and [House-Ka](https://www.house-ka.com) (Canadian homes for sale).

Rent-Ka continuously aggregates rental listings published by Canadian
property managers, REITs and national portals: every listing keeps its
photos, price, availability and a direct link to the original ad.

## Architecture

Forked from Lou-Ka on 2026-08-27 (the Ontario expansion paused there — 65
sources, ~5,850 listings — moved here and went live, with every Québec-only
layer removed). The Python package is `rentka/`.

- **Backend** — FastAPI + SQLite (`data/rentka.db`): connectors → `ingest`
  → geocoding (Nominatim) → dedup → `quality` (completeness score +
  publication gate + Québec exclusion) → API.
- **Connectors** (81) — three families:
  - **Platform generators** (53): LiftSystem/Rentsync (`lift_*`), RentCafe
    (`rc_*`), Rentsync gateway (`rsgw_*`), Buildium (`bld_*`), AppFolio
    (`apf_*`) — one JSON registry per platform in `data/*_clients.json`;
    adding a property manager anywhere in Canada = adding one client row
    (optional `"province"` key, default `"ON"`).
  - **National landlords** (12): Boardwalk, CAPREIT, Centurion, Cogir,
    Hazelview, InterRent, MetCap, Minto, Morguard, Realstar, Akelius,
    Killam… — whole portfolio outside Québec (AB/SK/BC/MB/NS/NB included).
  - **National portals** (5): Rentals.ca, Zumper, Kijiji, Apartments.com,
    Facebook Marketplace — major metros in every province.
- **Frontend** — React/Vite, **English (en-CA)**, cobalt skin. Routes: `/`,
  `/listing/{uid}`, `/city/{slug}[/{type}]`, `/cities`, `/stats`,
  `/sources`, `/privacy`, `/terms`. Map = Ka Maps (`@groupe-ka/ka-maps`,
  expected at `../../ka-maps`).
- **SEO** — `rentka/seo.py` renders server-side HTML (meta, JSON-LD,
  sitemaps) in English.
- **Enrichment kept** (Canada-wide, no Québec dependency): KA Scores
  (OSM Walk/Transit/Bike/Quiet/Services), fair rental value, building
  passport, listing history, re-listed-unit detection, Winter Score,
  photo audit, manager profiles (SerpApi).
- **Removed vs Lou-Ka** — everything Québec-only: Hydro-Québec estimates,
  rent registry (registre des loyers), TAL history, BDZI flood, RSQAQ air,
  gazquebec, quartier (QC census), real-cost breakdown, movers directory,
  the whole short-term subsystem, and ~300 QC connectors.

## Canonical unit types (English)

`Studio | 1 bedroom | 2 bedrooms | 3 bedrooms | 4 bedrooms | 5+ bedrooms |
Loft | Penthouse | Condo | Townhouse | House | Room` — see
`rentka/normalize.py`. Québec «n½» input converts automatically
(n½ = n−2 bedrooms), and a central FR→EN label funnel in
`schema.finalize()` translates amenities/availability/price labels coming
from fr-ca page templates — the DB is uniformly English.

## Run

```bash
python run.py sync [source ...]   # sync listings
python run.py watch [minutes]     # sync loop (default 60 min)
python run.py serve [port]        # API + frontend (default 8125)
python run.py list                # registered connectors
python run.py geocode [n]         # geocode listings missing coordinates
python run.py quality             # recompute publication gate
```

pm2 (node M4M36): `rent-ka-web` (serve 8125) · `rent-ka-sync` (watch 60) ·
`rent-ka-ngrok` (`ngrok http --url=www.rent-ka.com 8125`).

## Tests

```bash
python -m pytest tests/
```

Connector snapshot tests replay recorded fixtures (`tests/fixtures/`);
re-record with `python run.py record <source>` after changing a connector.

## Expansion playbook

The fastest way to add coverage is the platform registries: find property
managers whose sites run LiftSystem/RentCafe/Rentsync/Buildium/AppFolio
(signatures documented in `gestion-immobiliere-ontario.md` §10) and append
a client entry with its `province`. `docs/canada-sources.md` tracks the
national source inventory.