You might want to check if your state has "Repair And Deduct" laws. The short version is that if an apartment is in an unsafe/unlivable state (broken windows/locks, leaks, and the like), if you send written notice to your landlord asking for them to fix it, and they don't, you can just call a repairman yourself (the Repair part), and then deduct the cost of it from your rent (the Deduct part). It's a last resort type of thing but it's better than living in a place that's falling apart.