Man successfully sued landlord over deposit money dispute with help of ChatGPT | SWNS

A man successfully sued his landlord over a deposit money dispute - with the help of ChatGPT.

Chris Maloney, 23, and his girlfriend Nadia Syed, 22, moved out of their apartment in Amherst, New York, in July.

Following the move, their landlord deducted £770 ($1k) from their deposit for cleaning and repair costs.

As tenants, Chris and Nadia already had a negative experience when their landlord took months to replace a window.

So, when money was deducted from their deposit, Chris decided to fight back.

He ran their tenancy agreement thought ChatGPT and the AI tool found that in New York, deposits cannot exceed one month's rent while the couple had paid a month and a half.

Without representation, Chris decided to take his landlord to court and used ChatGPT to build his case.

Both parties presented their case before a judge on Oct 17 and last week Chris received the judgement in his favour - awarding him £993 ($1,180).

Chris, a tech support worker in Fredonia, New York, said: "Ultimately it feels like a victory.

"Not just for me but for tenants and the implications of the use of AI in the case."

Chris and Nadia moved into their two-bedroom condo in August 2022.

When they moved in, their landlord promised to fix a broken window which wasn't sealed correctly.

But the repair didn't happen until the end of February 2023.

Chris said: "Me and my partner were left to endure freezing winter temperatures in the apartment.

"I was told the delay was due to supply chain issues but during those months the apartment was barely liveable."

The couple decided to move out in July 2024 as the pair were looking to move for work.

But after the move, their landlord notified the couple that £770 (£1k) had been deducted from their deposit.

Chris said: "When I first heard that the landlord would be deducting from our deposit, I thought there was nothing to be done.

"I knew we had sufficiently cleaned the apartment and that any necessary repairs couldn't cost that much but I didn't know what to do until I checked with ChatGPT."

Chris ran their tenancy agreement through ChatGPT and found that under New York General Obligations Law a deposit on a property cannot exceed one month's rent.

Chris said: "For us it was $1,450 but we paid a month and a half.

"That made $725 of the total $2,200 we paid as a deposit illegally obtained money."

Chris approached his landlord and asked for it to be paid back.

Chris said: "He admitted that he knew it was illegal but said he would not pay it back and instead offered us $49 as interest."

Chris wasn't satisfied with the compensation and instead of accepting it, he used ChatGPT to find out more about his rights.

Chris said: "The AI tool taught me that the penalty for illegally obtaining money like this is simply to pay it back.

"But the penalty for wilfully breaking this law can be up to double the cost of rent as punitive damages."

Chris also used the AI tool to investigate the landlord's inaction in fixing the window.

He said: "ChatGPT let me know this is considered a breach of habitability and we could be owned rent abatement for the months we were living with this window."

Chris ended up making a £3,150 ($4k) claim against him for the deposit deduction and the length it took to fix the window.

Just over a month later, the landlord responded with a counterclaim for £3,937 ($5k), which was then argued in small claims court on October 17.

In court, Chris represented himself with binders of notes compiled with ChatGPT's help and was able to present his case to a judge.

And last week (25/11), Chris finally received the judgement, which ruled in his favour.

He was awarded £993 ($1,180) in damages and the judge dismissed his landlord's counterclaim entirely.

Chris said: “It’s a great relief to me and my girlfriend knowing that we see some justice.

"It means a lot to me that after many years, people have not had the tools to defend themselves against landlords, but now those tools exist.

"This feels like an endorsement of the power of AI, and it was able to get me the justice I felt was deserved."

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