If a landlord is not responding to your request for repairs, you will want to document every time you have attempted to have this conversation with them. If you are going to mail the repair request to your landlord, you can send the request with a certificate of mailing. This certificate verifies that you did send a request to your landlord. Do not withhold your rent without speaking to legal services first. If somebody does withhold their rent, it would need to be kept in a completely separate checking account. The reason for this is so, if the landlord ever takes an individual to court for non-payment, the tenant can provide the past owed rent on the spot in the court hearing if needed. If the judge requests the tenant to pay the past due rent on the spot and the tenant doesn't have the money, the eviction can move forward in the landlord's favor.