Habitable
Snap a photo of what’s broken in your NYC apartment; get a dated, housing-code-classified evidence log and a ready-to-send repair notice.
AI proposes, code disposes.
The whole idea on one page
Text version of this diagram
- The user: a NYC renter in an older, often rent-stabilized building with a leak, mold, no heat, pests, a broken lock or peeling paint. Today they text or call the landlord, keep no dated record, and don’t know what the code requires or how long the landlord has. Secondary: tenant-association organizers and legal-aid intake workers.
- Snap: a photo of the problem plus one optional line.
- AI proposes: picks only from a fixed list (six problem types plus “not covered”), gives a confidence, asks one clarifying question if unsure.
- Code disposes: a cited rules table, never the model, sets the hazard class and the legal correction window, with a “why” drawer and countdown.
- Log: a dated timeline with photo, capture time, content hash and follow-ups. From here the renter comes back to add another issue or a follow-up.
- Notice: one tap builds a print-ready notice PDF, with a 311/HPD next step. Not legal advice.
- The proof: a stamped “Class B · Hazardous · 30-day correction window” card with a running countdown and cited code section; the building panel (“This building already has N open violations, M for leaks.”); a dated timeline entry with hash and timestamps; a print-ready notice PDF.
The Unique Kernel
AI proposes, code disposes. A vision model may only pick from a short, fixed list of problem types and must say how sure it is. A cited rules table — never the model — decides the NYC hazard class and the legal correction window. The photo, its capture time and a content hash become an evidence entry, and the building’s public violation history shows the tenant isn’t alone. Photo → code class → legal clock → building history → notice does not exist as one flow today.
Who it’s for
A New York City renter
Typically in an older (often rent-stabilized) building, with a leak, mold, no heat, pests, a broken lock or peeling paint.
Today
They text or call the landlord, keep no dated record, and don’t know what the Housing Maintenance Code requires or how long the landlord has to fix it.
When it escalates
To a 311 complaint, an HPD inspection or housing court, they have a scattered camera roll and no paper trail.
Secondary
Tenant-association organizers and legal-aid intake workers who need structured evidence.
“Every repair dispute turns on documentation.”
The core loop
Open the app on a phone → snap the problem (plus one optional line like “ceiling dripping since Tuesday”) → see the class card with its clock and the “why” → it lands on a dated timeline. They come back to add another issue or a follow-up (“still broken on day 12”), and when ready, produce the notice.
- 1 Snap
Photo plus one optional line.
- 2 AI proposes
Fixed list, with a confidence; one question if unsure.
- 3 Code disposes
Cited table sets class and window; “why” drawer and countdown.
- 4 Log
Dated timeline with follow-ups; they come back to add more.
- 5 Notice
One tap: a print-ready notice PDF when they are ready.
What “working” looks like
On a phone: enter an address once, photograph a stained ceiling that is no longer dripping, and watch it flip into a stamped “Class B · Hazardous · 30-day correction window” card with a running countdown and the cited code section. The building panel slides in: “This building already has N open violations, M for leaks.” The issue lands on a dated timeline with its hash and timestamps, and one tap produces a print-ready notice PDF.
Photograph a stained, dripping ceiling (address entered once).
Class B · Hazardous
30-day correction window
Running countdown and the cited code section.
This building already has N open violations, M for leaks.
A dated timeline entry with its hash and timestamps; one tap: a print-ready notice PDF.
The “oh, that’s cool” beat: the photo becoming a stamped legal clock, followed by proof the building has a history.
The POC boundary: now, later, cut
Each item opens to show its reason. “Now” comes from the POC Boundary list; reasons for “later” are the ones the PRD records.
9 in the POC
NYC only, one address per device, no accounts; everything stored on the device.
Why: Local-first is the privacy story, and it avoids auth and a database that would not prove the kernel (see the cut list).
Fixed taxonomy of six problem types plus “not covered”.
Why: The vision model may only pick from a short, fixed list; the legal table stays small enough to cite accurately (prd.md > Product Decisions).
Vision classification with confidence + rationale; one clarifying question when unsure.
Why: The AI proposes and must say how sure it is; when unsure it asks one question instead of guessing.
Deterministic, cited rules table with a “why” drawer and countdown.
Why: Code disposes: a cited table, never the model, decides the hazard class and the correction window.
Evidence timeline (photo, capture time, hash, follow-ups).
Why: Today the renter has a scattered camera roll and no paper trail; this is the dated record.
Building history from NYC Open Data.
Why: It shows the tenant isn’t alone: the building’s public violation history.
Notice PDF.
Why: Civic tech with a real document at the end; the tools that exist are chatbots, not evidence.
A seeded demo mode so the demo never depends on a live API.
Why: The video and the judges never depend on a live AI call (prd.md > Product Decisions).
“Not legal advice” plus a 311/HPD next step.
Why: The app documents and cites; it doesn’t advise. The next step hands the renter to 311/HPD.
4 after the POC
Email the notice (Resend).
Why: Needs a verified sending domain. Download and share cover it for now (prd.md > Deferred From the POC).
Shareable read-only evidence link for an organizer.
Why: Needs hosted storage and access control.
Multi-unit view for tenant associations.
Why: Needs accounts and shared data.
More cities.
Why: Each city needs its own cited rules table.
4 explicitly cut
Accounts and cloud sync
Why: They add auth and a database without proving the kernel; local-first is also the privacy story.
Letting the model decide class or deadline
Why: That is exactly the trust problem the kernel solves.
Rent-withholding or legal strategy advice
Why: Legal risk; the app documents and cites, it doesn’t advise.
Filing 311 complaints automatically
Why: No public filing API; we hand the user pre-filled text and the link instead.
Inspiration & identity
Visual
The brag-styles doodle kit: hand-drawn ink lines on grid paper, a lime highlighter swipe under the key word, cards that spring in, Patrick Hand handwriting with a bold display sans and mono numbers — plus one complementary colour (the builder’s direction). Stamp-style badges for the hazard class carry over from the brief’s “legal paper” idea.
#f3eee5
#1d1b20
#ffcf3f
#5534e6
#b3261a
What strong entries share
Visible guardrails (“AI proposes, code disposes”), a specific named user, and a deliberate visual identity rather than default component-library styling.
Data
- NYC HPD “Clear Violations” correction windows
- NYC311 heat and hot water rules
- NYC Open Data HPD violations
wvxf-dwi5and complaintsygpa-z7cr
Why this matters to the learner
Civic tech with a real document at the end. “Every repair dispute turns on documentation,” and the tools that exist are chatbots, not evidence.
How this plan was made
The answers came from the builder’s private research brief rather than a live interview; the builder approved by asking for the full build. Decisions the builder made in the build sessions: the doodle kit plus violet for the AI; later, dropping the neon lime for matching felt-tip colours and adding a dark theme; subagents matched to task size; a direct Gemini key within free-tier limits; a public repo with Vercel auto-deploys; and, after the first build, adding what a renter needs next (heat log, landlord on record, next steps, backup, offline). Full list: scope.md.
Scope change after the first build
The proof of concept above shipped first and is unchanged. The builder then asked for more functionality and, later, features beyond this plan. They now ship alongside it, outside the boundary above, and are awaiting the builder's review and approval. The checklist's Revisions log gives the reasons.
- Heat and hot water log (indoor readings checked against §27-2029/§27-2031; outdoor temperature from the National Weather Service)
- Landlord on record and an addressed notice; the landlord track record across seven NYC Open Data sets
- Ask the law: answers only in quotes, each checked word for word by code
- Message coach: the AI writes the words, code fills and checks every fact
- Next steps and rights; backup and restore; calendar reminders; offline; dark theme