How can I ask my landlord to do something about our yukky apartment?

Talking to the landlord of our apartment block, I just discovered she intends to spend what little spare money she has to tile the floor of the storage room (full of junk like mattresses and bike tires) and pave the area out the back, when no-one uses the area that is already paved anyway. Sounds like a huge waste of money to me, especially looking at our apartment, which has a cockroach infestation, water running behind the tiles in the shower, a stovetop that half works, no security locks on the windows, and cupboards that smell like they're rotting!

I am not usually the most tactful person in these situations. I guess there is probably a nice way of asking her to do something about the apartment, but I am so annoyed that she cares more about the junk room than the state of our apartment that I don't think I will do a very good job of asking politely. Any pointers for approaching this situation, and others like it?

Thanks for the answers so far. I know my rights as a tenant, the question is more, how can I approach situations like this in a way that gives her a chance to see my point ot view, rather than sounding rude and demanding? I'm actually more interested in improving my social skills than the apartment!

tell her you will hold back the rent until she does something about the state of the apartments... talk to a rental body about your rights as renters

You need to check your lease to see what she is responsible for and what you are responsible for. Then hold her to the letter of the lease. Point out to her that she is violating the lease. Check with your local government and see who oversees rental properties. She may be in violation of local codes.

Try writing and practicing a script of what you want to say. If you write it out ahead of time, you won't get caught up in the moment and be nasty. Be sure to cover all your points. Then read and practice what you want to say, just the way you want to say it. Should help you keep things under control.

Good luck and God bless.