and include your contact with city regarding repair.Once ground freezes a company used for this type repair will charge owner about 50% more to do the work..I had a pipe leak the pipe was about 6 feet down.. excavator, repair, cost me about 1800.00  did end of October,, and would have had frozen ground by end of Nov.So either pack up and leave or Escrow your rent.. the landlord already gave you his answer,,you have no choice.. each day it's costing you to wait

We haven’t had any danger of frozen lines yet as we are not in freezing temps here.

First, are you sure it's not just frozen?

I had a renter client who had a $5,000+ loss covered (frozen heating pipes & repairs made apartment unable to be used for an extended period of time.  

We also picked up another mid-winter for $12,500 with frozen pipes, collapsed ceilings complete with icicles & buckled oak floors. 

The house doesn't have any curb appeal, but how do we address that when the ground is frozen?

Unless you have a problem with frozen pipes then jack it up in the winter.If you control the temperature for an entire building then that is a different issue.

I looked at Scottsdale's weather for the next 10 days and it hurt my heart knowing I'd be in this frozen tundra. 

if the heater stops working for any length of time at the all to common -40 below Fairbanks can reach in the winter you will have frozen pipes in just a few hours. 

I am using "I" because I am applying for a loan on my own, as  husband's credit is frozen because he had an identity theft situation a couple of years ago.