We have asked the landlord repeatedly to fix the issues with…

The landlord must comply with all building, housing, and health codes. Where there are no such codes, the landlord must maintain the roofs, windows, screens, doors, floors, steps, porches, exterior walls, foundations, and all other structural components in good repair and capable of resisting normal forces and loads and the plumbing in reasonable working condition.

In addition, landlords of buildings of two units or more must make reasonable provisions for the following:

· Extermination of rats, roaches, mice, ants, wood destroying organisms, and bedbugs

· Locks and keys

· The clean and safe condition of common areas

· Garbage removal and receptacles

· Functioning facilities for heat in the winter, running water, and hot water

· Smoke detectors

The warranty of habitability is a legal doctrine and statute that requires landlords to offer and maintain livable premises for their tenants. If a landlord fails to provide habitable housing, tenants in most states may legally withhold rent or take other measures, including fixing the problem and deducting the cost from the rent, or moving out.

Conditions that make a rental unit legally uninhabitable

There are many kinds of defects that could make a rental unit unlivable. The implied warranty of habitability requires landlords to maintain their rental units in a condition fit for the "occupation of human beings " In addition, the rental unit must "substantially comply" with building and housing code standards that materially affect tenants' health and safety.

A landlord’s lease cannot avoid the implied warranty habitability - nor can the tenant waive the implied warranty of habitability.

A rental unit may be considered uninhabitable (unlivable) if it contains a lead hazard that endangers the occupants or the public, or is a substandard building because, for example, a structural hazard, inadequate sanitation, or a nuisance endangers the health, life, safety, property, or welfare of the occupants or the public.

A dwelling also may be considered uninhabitable (unlivable) if it substantially lacks any of the following:

Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls, including unbroken windows and doors.
Plumbing facilities in good working order, including hot and cold running water, connected to a sewage disposal system
Gas facilities in good working order.
Heating facilities in good working order.
An electric system, including lighting, wiring, and equipment, in good working order.
Clean and sanitary buildings, grounds, and appurtenances (for example, a garden or a detached garage), free from debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents, and vermin.
Adequate trash receptacles in good repair.
Floors, stairways, and railings in good repair.
In addition to these requirements, each rental unit must have all of the following:

A working toilet, wash basin, and bathtub or shower. The toilet and bathtub or shower must be in a room which is ventilated and allows privacy.
A kitchen with a sink that cannot be made of an absorbent material such as wood.
Natural lighting in every room through windows or skylights. Windows in each room must be able to open at least halfway for ventilation, unless a fan provides mechanical ventilation.
Safe fire or emergency exits leading to a street or hallway. Stairs, hallways, and exits must be kept litter-free. Storage areas, garages, and basements must be kept free of combustible materials.
Operable deadbolt locks on the main entry doors of rental units, and operable locking or security devices on windows.
Working smoke detectors in all units of multi-unit buildings, such as duplexes and apartment complexes. Apartment complexes also must have smoke detectors in common stairwells.
Ground fault circuit interrupters for swimming pools and antisuction protections for wading pools in apartment complexes and other residential settings (but not single family residences).
The implied warranty of habitability is not violated merely because the rental unit is not in perfect, aesthetically pleasing condition. Nor is the implied warranty of habitability violated if there are minor housing code violations, which, standing alone, do not affect
habitability.

While it is the landlord's responsibility to install and maintain the inside wiring for one telephone jack, the landlord's failure to do so probably does not violate the implied warranty of habitability.

Additionally is the presence of mold conditions in the rental unit that affect the livability of the unit or the health and safety of tenants and the when the local health officer that the property is contaminated by methamphetamine.

Landlords must repair the pipes and plumbing in a rental unit and maintain them in good shape. They are obligated to do so under at least two separate, though related, theories.

The landlord has to keep essential plumbing (e.g.the toilet) working. What happens if there is a leak and the tenant’s belongings are damaged? In that case, if the landlord violated a duty to maintain the plumbing, he may also have been legally negligent. If the cause of the leak was negligence—for example, carelessness in maintaining or fixing the pipes—the landlord may well be responsible for any damages or losses caused by the negligence.

The tenant, however, must also act with diligence. This translates into both a duty to mitigate the damage (moving property out of the way of water for example) and to act responsibly to notify someone to alleviate the damaging condition.
Of course, sometimes water leaks will happen without it being any one’s fault—or sometimes they’re even the tenant’s fault, as when a tenant kept heat too low and pipes froze and burst. If the damage was not caused by the landlord’s actions or negligent inaction—in other words, if the landlord did everything reasonably expected of him or her—then the landlord may avoid responsibility for property damage or a water bill.
The determining factor will be the legal decisions in the state, which help determine where exactly that line between liable and non-liable fall.

The tenant may do one or a combination of the following:

1) Move out and terminate the lease: If the landlord does not make the repairs within a reasonable time the tenant may move out and terminate the lease.
2) Repair and deduct: The tenant can make the repairs himself and deduct the repair costs from the next month's rent. The repairs cannot cost more than one months rent to utilize this option.
3) Sue for damages: The tenant may sue the landlord for damages from the date of the landlord’s knowledge of the breach of warranty of habitability. The measure of damages is generally the difference between the value of the rented premises in its uninhabitable condition and its fair market rental value.
4) Sue to force the landlord to make repairs: The tenant can get a court order forcing the landlord to make the repairs. Courts are unlikely to utilize this option because it involves costly court supervision to ensure the repairs have been made.