So my problems continue... included in my lease was lawn maintenance. My landlords version of lawn maintenace is mowing approx once every 2-3 weeks and leaving the grass high. During the labor day weekend time... he didn't mow at all creating a ridiculously high yard. This prevents us from having any type of picnics or barbecues at our home. I believe that this intentional since we are not allowed to have lawn furniture unless we "bring it in" when we are not using it. He also does not mulch or bag any of the clippings. This has created large brown spots in the yard due to the amount of clippings not to mention the ridiculous amount of grass that gets tracked in the house. Initially they played the yard furniture restrictions as trying to take great care of the lawn, however after several months of ridiculously tall grass and brown spots, I now longer believe them. I would rather mow my own yard.

The other issue is the fireplace. The realtor and landlord had the house listed with a working fireplace. They hired a sweep to come clean it today that informed me that it need repair and should not be used. He also told me that he goes through this every year with her.

Is there any recourse I have?

:(

Grass season is almost over... depending on where you ARE, if there is no rain, then mowing every 2-3 weeks is perfectly acceptable. Not mulching (I think you mean de-thatching) is also acceptable when there is a lack of water.

Removing grass clippings is a relatively new concept so not bagging the cuttings is a personal preference of yours.
A front door mat and wiping ones feet solves that problem entirely.

Any vendor that suspects a fireplace problem will say not to use it for liability reasons... depending on what is actually WRONG with the fireplace, it may be perfectly safe to use by someone who knows how to operate the flue, heat the stack and burn proper firewood.

Grass season is almost over... but I do not come from a "dry" area so mowing every 2-3 weeks is not acceptable. It is also not acceptable to cut the grass that infrequently and cut it to a higher then normal level. By mulching I meant using mulching blade. A door mat had not worked well because the clippings are so large in volume. There is quite a distance of yard to walk across from the parking pad to the house. The grass usually reaches to above my ankle. So grass clippings are covering your shoes, not just stuck to the bottom of my shoes. This is not like a normal lawn mowing with normal grass clippings. There are large areas of dead grass clippings with damaged grass underneath. My rental home has a substantial yard (approx 1/2 acre). This is one of the reasons I rented it.

As a rentor, if a vendor (that the landlord hired) tells me not to use a fireplace, and I use it as an experienced user of one, and something happens, then I will be held a fault.