Man says ChatGPT told him to stop paying rent. He was evicted and is now suing OpenAI

A 60-year-old Danish man has sued OpenAI, claiming its ChatGPT chatbot advised him to stop paying rent during a dispute with his landlord, which led to his eviction. Klaus Elmfelt filed the lawsuit this week in San Francisco County Superior Court, the Mercury News reported.

According to the lawsuit, Elmfelt asked ChatGPT for help in a disagreement with the real estate company that owned his apartment. The company wanted him to give up one of his two dogs, and he believed it owed him money. The suit claims the chatbot told him he could withhold rent and stay in his home, repeatedly assuring him, "You will not end up on the street. Legally impossible," and that it drafted the letter he sent telling the landlord he would stop paying.

He was evicted in June. The lawsuit says he ended up sleeping behind a rented car in the countryside with his dogs, and he now lives in a cabin at a campsite. It also claims that over more than 600 hours of conversations with the GPT-4o and GPT-5 versions, the chatbot drew him into a false belief that the two of them were building AI products worth billions. Elmfelt is seeking unspecified damages and a court order requiring safeguards against ChatGPT validating users' delusional beliefs. OpenAI did not respond to the newspaper's requests for comment, and none of the lawsuit's claims have been tested in court.

The case took place under Danish law, but the lesson carries over. In the US, withholding rent can put a tenant on the fast track to eviction, and the rules that allow it are narrow.

Texas is a good example of how many conditions apply. Under the Texas Property Code, a tenant can have a problem repaired and deduct the cost from rent only if the condition materially affects the health or safety of an ordinary tenant, the tenant gave notice and then a second written notice, or sent the first notice by certified or other tracked mail, the landlord had a reasonable time to fix it, and the tenant wasn't behind on rent when the notice was given. Even then, the deduction is capped at one month's rent or $500, whichever is greater. A tenant who withholds rent in bad faith after a written warning from the landlord can owe a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $500, on top of the landlord's actual damages.

Other states are stricter still. Arkansas, which adopted basic habitability standards in 2021, says in the same law that a tenant shall not offset or withhold rent. If a landlord there doesn't make required repairs within 30 days of notice, the tenant's only remedy is to end the lease.

If you're in a dispute with a landlord, the safer path is to keep paying while you document the problem in writing and get advice from a person who knows your state's law. LawHelp.org lists free nonprofit legal aid groups by state. For a step-by-step approach, see how to get your landlord to make repairs.

Sources

• Mercury News, "Man claims in lawsuit that ChatGPT told him to stop paying rent and got him evicted" (November 5, 2026)

• Texas Property Code, Chapter 92, sections 92.056, 92.0561, and 92.058

• Arkansas Act 1052 of 2021

• LawHelp.org