The repair is not getting made

A phone call is not a record. Almost every later step — a code complaint, a legal-aid intake, a small-claims case, a defense in an eviction — works better when there is a dated written request that the landlord received.

What a useful repair request contains

• The date, your name, the unit address, and how to reach you.
• What is wrong, described plainly and specifically — location, what it does, when it started.
• How it affects the household: heat, water, sleep, safety, health, ability to cook or wash.
• Any earlier reports, with dates, including phone calls and app tickets.
• A clear ask: repair the item, and a request to confirm a scheduled date in writing.
• Reasonable access: say when the household can let a contractor in.
• A note that you are keeping a copy.

Keep the tone factual. A calm, specific, dated request is more persuasive to a code officer, a judge, or a lawyer than an angry one, and it is much harder to characterize as a dispute rather than a report.

• Photos and video with the date visible in the file metadata; keep originals, not screenshots.
• A short note each time — date, what you observed, who you contacted, what they said.
• Temperature readings if heat or cooling is the issue, taken at a consistent spot and time.
• Receipts for anything the problem forced you to buy — space heaters, bottled water, laundry, a hotel night, replaced food.
• Names of anyone who came to look, and what they did.
• Any medical documentation if the condition affected someone's health.

Most cities and counties have a building, housing, or health department that inspects rental conditions and can issue notices to a property owner. This is a free public route that exists independently of any court case, and an inspection report is third-party evidence a tenant cannot create alone.

Two practical notes. First, ask what the office does with your name — some allow anonymous complaints, some do not. Second, request a copy of the inspection report and any notice issued; it may not arrive automatically.

The same caution applies to breaking the lease over conditions, moving out and stopping payment, or hiring your own contractor. All of these can be lawful in the right state under the right conditions, and expensive everywhere else.

• Send a second written request that references the first by date, and keep both.
• File a code-enforcement or health-department complaint and request the report.
• Contact legal aid — this is exactly the situation legal-aid housing units handle daily.
• Ask about small-claims court in your state for out-of-pocket costs, if that fits.
• Keep paying rent unless and until an advocate confirms a lawful alternative applies to you.