Woman successfully uses AI chatbot ChatGPT to force landlord to fix her washer and dryer

The New York woman turned to the AI chatbot after receiving a rent increase notice - and was successful in getting her appliances repaired
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A woman has successfully used the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT to make her landlord fix household appliances in her building. Svetlana, who doesn’t want to reveal her surname, used the chatbot to write an email to her landlord, which made them agree to come and fix her washer and dryer.

The exchange with her landlord started after she received a notice her rent would increase by 0.4 percent, from $1389 (£1,123) to $1,395 (£1,128). The notice came only days after Svetlana had applied for lower rent because her washer and dryer had been broken for more than two years.

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The 28-year-old turned to the chatbot after she feared she wouldn’t be able to get her point across on her own, and asked the AI to act like a housing lawyer and draft an email opposing the rent increase. Her attempt ended up being successful, and she had both her machines fixed that same month.

"The rent increase alone was not my gripe!," Svetlana, who lives in New York City, said. "It was the audacity to increase the rent, seemingly in retaliation after I filed a complaint and request for a rent decrease on the basis of decreased building-wide services."

She had previously lodged multiple complaints over the last two-and-a-half years, but without any response from her landlord. So after receiving her rent increase notice, she handed her luck over to artificial intelligence.

She explained: "It took a couple of attempts to get it perfect. I prompted Chat GPT to add more legalese.

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"That’s the beauty of ChatGPT; the ability to collaborate, bounce ideas, put thoughts into a cohesive piece of writing. It’s like a super-smart, objective, real-time sounding board."

The chatbot even added specific sections of New York rent stabilisation code and posited that the rent increase was retaliatory, since Svetlana had recently filed a request for a rent decrease due to the broken appliances.

Svetlana had previously applied for lower rent because her washer and dryer had been broken for more than two years.Svetlana had previously applied for lower rent because her washer and dryer had been broken for more than two years.
Svetlana had previously applied for lower rent because her washer and dryer had been broken for more than two years.

She added: "My goal was to have the laundry machines repaired, and thankfully they were fixed that month after years of being out of order. I never received an official response from my landlord, there was a sign posted in my building announcing that the laundry rooms were back in service."

Svetlana already had some knowledge of the chatbot, as she uses ChatGPT in her work as an executive assistant, but the experience proved the true power of the AI tool to her. She now considers using the bot to resolve other legal conflicts.

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She said: "It’s definitely reinforced my faith in the, what feels to be, limitless future of AI. We’re living in super fun times and it’s clear that we’re only just scratching the surface of what’s possible.

The 28-year-old turned to the chatbot after she feared she wouldn’t be able to get her point across on her own, and asked the AI to act like a housing lawyer and draft an email opposing the rent increase.The 28-year-old turned to the chatbot after she feared she wouldn’t be able to get her point across on her own, and asked the AI to act like a housing lawyer and draft an email opposing the rent increase.
The 28-year-old turned to the chatbot after she feared she wouldn’t be able to get her point across on her own, and asked the AI to act like a housing lawyer and draft an email opposing the rent increase.

"I’ve thought about issuing a scary legal letter to my neighbours who frequently chain smoke indoors. Their smoke seeps into my apartment and it becomes overwhelming for me.

“[I] have decided against it for now. But I use ChatGPT everyday, for work and for fun, and even just seeking objective opinions on literally anything."

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