Apartment Condemned. How Do I Get Out?

IN MISSOURI

Last Friday I found out that the apartment I’ve been renting is condemned for occupancy from a city inspector. It has been condemned since 2/20 and the letter was sent to my landlord on 2/10. My landlord said absolutely nothing about this to me until I confronted him, where he downplayed the situation and refused to let me break my lease early.

My apartment has been condemned before I moved in too apparently. The city inspector also gave me the documents from December where he informed my landlord of the issues and warned him that if the issues weren’t fixed within a month, the building would be condemned.

The reason the city inspector even reached out to me is because I filed a complaint with the city because my landlord refused to fix a leak on my roof that I had complained about 4 separate times since November 2024.

I want to break my lease and move out but I need some advice on how to go about this. I’m from Missouri and it’s supposedly hard to break a lease here without going to court and stuff. My lease mentions nothing about condemnation either. I’ve applied to some pro bono lawyers/housing legal aid but gotten no response yet.

I’m thinking I will take my landlord to small claims court in order to get our deposit and at least March rent back, but I’m stressed about how long this will take or if that’s the best route. Does anyone have any insight or advice on this situation?