Uczciwe opłaty is a forward-thinking online platform created for residents who want to gain clearer insight into their housing expenses and take greater control over what they pay.
Tools and technologies used
The system is designed to help users analyze property-related expenses by comparing them with regional averages, identifying areas of overpayment, and generating personalized savings reports.
This project responds to a growing public demand for greater transparency and smarter management of housing costs, including utilities, renovation funds, and administrative fees.
Challenge
The main goal was to develop a comprehensive, scalable, and user-friendly tool capable of:
- Accurately comparing the cost of maintaining residential properties across different regions of Poland
- Analyzing fee structures to highlight potential savings
- Handling thousands of diverse data inputs efficiently
- Ensuring full compliance with data protection regulations (GDPR)
Some of the most significant challenges included designing a complex, multi-step form, managing a vast array of cost components, ensuring accurate geographic mapping, and building a platform that could scale effectively while maintaining robust security.
Solution
The Boring Owl team designed and implemented a modern application architecture focused on user experience, high performance, and strong security.
- Frontend: Next.js 15 with TypeScript and Tailwind CSS, using the shadcn/ui component library to deliver a responsive, modern user interface
- Backend: Strapi 4 CMS with Node.js, providing a flexible content and data management system
- Database: PostgreSQL/SQLite with optimized queries and relational data handling
- DevOps: Docker, CI/CD pipelines via GitHub Actions, hosted on DigitalOcean
- Integrations
- Google Maps API – for address autocompletion and geolocation
- Google Sheets API – automated data exports every 30 minutes for external analysis
- Nodemailer (SMTP) – email notification system
Key Features
- Advanced multi-step form
- Automatic data saving between steps
- Dynamic validation and seamless navigation between steps without data loss
- Selection of location, property manager, building type, and cost components
- Comparison & analysis engine
- Generates comparative reports based on regional data
- Offers savings suggestions and flags potential overpayments
- Location management
- Comprehensive database of towns and cities with administrative divisions
- Smart suggestions and autocompletion for user inputs
- Dashboard & educational blog
- Key platform metrics visualized for users
- Clear comparisons of property expenses “with us” vs. “without us”
- Educational content on managing housing costs
- Data security
- Secured APIs with thorough data validation and sanitization
- Full GDPR compliance with clear consent management for users
Results
- Business Metrics
- Over 1,700 properties added
- 1,000+ users completed the cost analysis form
- Data collected from 72 cities across Poland
- Average annual savings of 1,200 PLN per household
- 95% of users reported a better understanding of their billing structure
- User benefits
- Clear and actionable comparative reports
- Tools to support negotiations with property managers
- Educational resources explaining fee components and cost structure
- Operational impact
- Automated data exports streamline external analysis
- Significant error reduction thanks to validation and user-friendly interface
- High user retention enabled by the ability to return and complete forms at any time
Summary
Uczciwe opłaty is a prime example of how modern technology can address real social challenges. By combining thoughtful system architecture, smart UX design, and robust third-party integrations, the platform helps Polish residents confront rising housing costs. The project not only boosts awareness but also delivers tangible savings - laying the groundwork for future developments in housing analytics and cost optimization.