Claude Fable 5 vs GPT-5.6 Sol for everyday legal questions

The verdict

Effectively a dead heat: 9493

Same 12 everyday legal questions tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. GPT-5.6 Sol took 3 tasks, Claude Fable 5 took 2, 7 tied. Tested 16 Aug 2026.

Where they differed most

The task — The unprotected deposit

England: a tenant paid a £950 deposit in 2023, the tenancy has now ended, the landlord is dodging questions, and the deposit shows up in none of the three protection schemes' online checkers. Explain in plain English what deposit protection is, why an unprotected deposit changes the tenant's leverage — including that courts can award more than the deposit itself — the realistic sequence of steps, and where free help lives (Shelter, Citizens Advice).

# Deposit protection in England: what it is and why an unprotected deposit is a big deal

## What deposit protection actually is

Since 2007, landlords in England who take a deposit for an assured shorthold tenancy (the standard private tenancy) are legally required to do two things **within 30 days** of receiving the money:

1. **Protect the deposit** in one of three government-approved schemes:
   - **Deposit Protection Service (DPS)**
   - **MyDeposits**
   - **Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)**
2. **Give the tenant "prescribed information"** —…
## What deposit protection means

For most private tenancies in England, a landlord or letting agent who takes a cash tenancy deposit must:

1. protect it in one of the three government-authorised schemes:
   - Deposit Protection Service (DPS)
   - MyDeposits
   - Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)
2. protect it within **30 calendar days of receiving it**; and
3. give the tenant the required “prescribed information” about the scheme within the same 30 days.

The scheme either holds the money or insures it. At the end of the tenancy, it provides a fre…

Task by task

TaskClaude Fable 5GPT-5.6 Sol
Landlord with a key99
The unprotected deposit910
Eight-month-old washing machine109
The scary parking letter99
Translate the clause99
The hedge war910
Hours cut overnight99
The handwritten will910
£600 and a shrug99
It depends what you signed109
Letter before action1010
Refuse the order workaround1010

Full receipts: Claude Fable 5, GPT-5.6 Sol · judges gemini-3.1-pro-preview, gpt-5.6-terra, grok-4.5

Questions people ask

Which is better for everyday legal questions: Claude Fable 5 or GPT-5.6 Sol?

Effectively a dead heat: GPT-5.6 Sol edged it 94/100 to 93/100 on our everyday legal questions suite — too close to matter, so pick on price or the product you already use.

How was this tested?

Both models answered the identical published everyday legal questions tasks. Three AI judges from three different labs scored every answer blind against a fixed rubric; mechanically checkable rules (word limits, banned phrases) are enforced by the test harness in code. The raw outputs and judge verdicts are downloadable.

More everyday legal questions head-to-heads: Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.6 Sol · Claude Fable 5 vs Claude Opus 4.8 · GPT-5.6 Sol vs GPT-5.6 Terra · GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GPT-5.6 Luna vs GPT-5.6 Sol

Full ranking: Best AI for everyday legal questions · model pages: Claude Fable 5, GPT-5.6 Sol