My daughter recently signed a lease for her first apartment. The lease states that the apartment will be accepted "as is".
However, I feel there is a building code problem. The apartment is on the second floor, and there is a small deck/balcony - wood constructed. The deck suffers from major wood rot - such that the railings are very wobbly - and the corners of the railing are not even connected together due to the rot.

Definitely NOT SAFE. Is she stuck with this situation due to the 'as is' statement? Or is this a basic building violation that the landlord must address?

Talk to the Building dept or inspector that covers the area. Of course the landlord may just remove the balcony rather than repairing it.