Clever Tenant Uses ChatGPT to Force Landlord to Fix Washer and Dryer
A New Yorker named Svetlana, who chose not to disclose her last name, found a clever solution to her landlord's rent increase notice after two years of neglecting to fix the washer and dryer unit in her building. Rather than spend money on a lawyer, Svetlana turned to ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, and used it to write an email in "legalese" to her landlord. The result was the landlord agreed to fix her washer and dryer.
The exchange started with Svetlana receiving a rent increase notice of 0.4%, from $1,389 to $1,395, just days after she had filed for a decrease in rent. Her reasoning was that her washer and dryer had been out of order for more than two years. She feared she wouldn't be able to get her point across, so she decided to use the AI chatbot to act like a housing lawyer and draft an email opposing the rent raise.
ChatGPT proved to be successful, and her landlord fixed both machines that month. In two and a half years, Svetlana had lodged several complaints with her landlord to get the machines fixed, but she never received a response. She prompted ChatGPT to add more legalese and even quoted specific sections of the New York rent stabilization code. The AI chatbot posited that the rent increase was retaliatory.
According to Svetlana, "It's like a super-smart, objective, real-time sounding board." She already uses the AI chatbot for work, but the experience has her considering using it to resolve other legal conflicts.
It's nice to see AI being used to tackle situations almost all of us can relate to. With AI technology continuing to advance, it's clear that we're only just scratching the surface of what's possible.
