Why this result mattered
Functional tie
The principal comparison placed Qwen 3.8 and Claude under concealed A/B labels.
Both readers would authorize and pay for the licensed $1,400 repair today, then timely pay $250 with the invoice, proof of payment, and supporting records. Both would preserve but not deduct the $260 hotel claim, avoid total withholding or immediate termination, and retain evidence for any retaliation dispute.
Fast audit
Open the underlying record
These links open all four answers, the principal blind judgment, original prompt, and sealed key.
Prompt and sealed key
The key is an audit reference. It was not shown to the contestant systems and did not determine the comparative verdict.
Read the original matter prompt
Question 43: The Furnace and the March Rent
Your role
You represent Sora Bell, a residential tenant in the fictional State of Ventor. Her furnace failed during cold weather, the landlord did not act, and a licensed contractor can repair it today. Sora wants to know whether she may repair and deduct, withhold all rent, or move out.
Governing law
Assume the following Ventor rules apply:
A landlord must maintain heat, plumbing, electricity, weather protection, and other conditions necessary for a safe and habitable dwelling.
A tenant must give written notice identifying the condition and allow a reasonable opportunity to repair. For complete loss of heat when interior temperature is below 55 degrees, 48 hours after confirmed notice is a reasonable opportunity absent circumstances beyond the landlord's control.
After that period, the tenant may arrange a necessary repair by a licensed contractor and deduct the lesser of the reasonable actual cost or one month's rent. The remedy may be used once in any 12-month period.
The tenant must give the landlord the invoice and proof of payment with the rent statement. Any rent above the lawful deduction remains due on time.
The tenant may not withhold all rent unless a court has ordered escrow or the tenant has lawfully terminated the tenancy under a separate rule. Repair-and-deduct does not itself authorize total withholding.
A landlord is not responsible for a condition caused by the tenant's deliberate or negligent misuse. The landlord bears the burden when asserting tenant causation after receiving notice of an essential-service failure.
A tenant may recover reasonable temporary-housing expense caused by an uncorrected habitability breach after notice, but such damages may not be deducted from rent unless the landlord agrees or a court awards them.
Retaliatory eviction or rent increase within 90 days after a good-faith habitability complaint is presumed retaliatory unless the landlord proves an independent reason.
A tenant should preserve notices, temperature records, photographs, contractor findings, invoices, and payment proof.
Facts
Sora's monthly rent is $1,650. She has not used repair-and-deduct during the past 12 months.
At 7:00 a.m. Monday, the furnace stopped working. Indoor temperatures fell to 49 degrees. Sora sent notice through the lease portal and by certified email at 8:10 a.m. Both systems confirmed delivery. She described the temperature and asked for emergency repair.
The property manager replied at 10:00 a.m.:
"We will put it on the list. Do not hire anyone yourself."
No technician came Monday or Tuesday. The weather remained cold, and Sora stayed two nights at a modest hotel for $260 total. She sent photographs of a thermometer and a second written demand Tuesday afternoon.
At 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, more than 48 hours after confirmed notice, a licensed heating contractor inspected the furnace. The contractor found a cracked ignition control caused by age, not filter neglect or tenant misuse. The contractor gives a written fixed quote of $1,400, reasonable for the area, and can complete the repair today.
The landlord now claims Sora probably failed to replace the filter, but has no inspection or other evidence. March rent is due Friday. Sora asks whether she may deduct the $1,400 repair and $260 hotel charge, pay nothing, or terminate immediately.
Assignment
Counsel Sora on:
- Habitability and adequacy of notice.
- Whether the 48-hour opportunity expired.
- The landlord's causation defense.
- Whether Sora may authorize the $1,400 repair.
- The exact rent amount due after a lawful deduction.
- Treatment of the $260 hotel expense.
- Why withholding all rent is or is not permitted.
- Documentation and notice to send with rent.
- Retaliation protection.
- The concrete action Sora should take today and on Friday.
Read the sealed key
Q43 key (Furnace and March Rent)
- Complete loss of heat at 49 degrees is a habitability breach, and confirmed portal and email notice was adequate. More than 48 hours passed without repair. Missed: Sora waits through unsafe conditions despite satisfying the trigger.
- The landlord has no evidence of tenant causation, while the licensed report attributes the failure to age. Rule 6 does not defeat the remedy. Missed: an unsupported filter accusation blocks essential service.
- Sora may authorize the licensed $1,400 repair because it is necessary, reasonable, below one month's $1,650 rent, and she has not used the remedy in 12 months. Missed: she either pays without using the statute or hires outside its conditions.
- Friday rent due is $1,650 minus $1,400 = $250. Send the invoice, proof of payment, notices, and a calculation with the $250. Missed: a lawful deduction becomes nonpayment through poor documentation.
- The $260 hotel cost may be claimed as actual damages but may not be deducted from rent without agreement or judgment. Missed: deducting it leaves a $260 default.
- Do not withhold all rent or claim immediate termination under rules not supplied. Preserve records and seek the hotel amount separately. Missed: Sora converts a strong habitability claim into rent default.
- Warn the landlord that adverse action within 90 days carries a retaliation presumption, while continuing ordinary compliance. Missed: retaliation protection is unused or treated as immunity from rent.
Direct judge report
The report below is preserved from the Qwen 3.8 versus Claude verdict record.
Read the preserved judge report
Basis. Both readers would authorize and pay for the licensed $1,400 repair today, then timely pay $250 with the invoice, proof of payment, and supporting records. Both would preserve but not deduct the $260 hotel claim, avoid total withholding or immediate termination, and retain evidence for any retaliation dispute.
A rejected: retaliation protection extends to refusing payment, harassment, or any adverse action — Rule 8 identifies only eviction and rent increases.
B rejected: the landlord “tried to suppress the remedy” — record lacks evidence of the landlord’s intent.
Failed candidates. Hotel-credit timing — concrete consequence failed because any offset depends on a future landlord agreement not in the record.
Failed candidates. B’s advice to preserve failed parts, filters, and warranty — concrete consequence failed because both readers already preserve the contractor’s dispositive causation findings.
Failed candidates. Different instructions following refused payment or retaliation — likelihood failed because no such event has occurred or is established by the record.
Failed candidates. B’s cautions about repair overages and a future furnace failure — record support failed because the quote is fixed and no later failure is presented.
Failed candidates. A’s broader retaliation description — different conduct failed because both readers still timely pay $250 and preserve any adverse notice for challenge.
Hard stop. The sentence cannot be completed with a concrete, record-supported consequence.
All six pairings
Every pair of the four model answers was judged independently under the same evaluation instrument.
Open the six head-to-head results
| Pairing | Result | Why it mattered | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen 3.8 27B vs Claude Opus 5 | Functional tie | Both readers would authorize and pay for the licensed $1,400 repair today, then timely pay $250 with the invoice, proof of payment, and supporting records. Both would preserve but not deduct the $260 hotel claim, avoid total withholding or immediate termination, and retain evidence for any retaliation… | Judge record |
| Qwen 3.8 27B vs DeepSeek V4-Flash-0731 | Functional tie | Both answers direct Sora to authorize the licensed repair today, pay the contractor, and tender $250 on Friday with the invoice, payment proof, and supporting records. Both correctly advise against deducting the hotel expense, withholding all rent, or immediately terminating, leaving Sora on the same… | Judge record |
| Qwen 3.8 27B vs Qwen 3.5 27B | Functional tie | Both answers direct Sora to authorize the licensed $1,400 repair today, preserve the evidence, pay exactly $250 on Friday with the required invoice and payment proof, pursue the $260 hotel expense separately, and neither withhold all rent nor terminate immediately. | Judge record |
| DeepSeek V4-Flash-0731 vs Claude Opus 5 | Functional tie | Both answers direct Sora to authorize the licensed $1,400 repair today, pay the contractor, and timely pay the remaining $250 rent with the required invoice and proof of payment. | Judge record |
| DeepSeek V4-Flash-0731 vs Qwen 3.5 27B | Functional tie | Both answers direct Sora to authorize the licensed $1,400 repair today, preserve evidence, pay exactly $250 on Friday with the required invoice, payment proof, and rent statement, pursue the $260 hotel expense separately, and neither withhold all rent nor terminate. | Judge record |
| Qwen 3.5 27B vs Claude Opus 5 | Functional tie | Both answers direct Sora to authorize the licensed $1,400 repair today, pay the contractor, deduct $1,400, and timely pay the remaining $250 with the invoice and proof of payment. | Judge record |
Rejected-point diagnostic
Judge-attributed rejected points for this matter across all six pairings:
| Qwen 3.8 27B | 3 |
|---|---|
| DeepSeek V4-Flash-0731 | 0 |
| Claude Opus 5 | 2 |
| Qwen 3.5 27B | 3 |
This is a review-burden diagnostic, not a universal hallucination measure.