My guess is these are wood casement windows that were painted. The only thing the handyman is going to do is what someone else said and run a box knife type razor to break the paint seal.

If you want to start off on the right foot with the landlord and you can fix it yourself without much hassle, why wouldn't you?

Can you install a carbon monoxide detector yourself?

Are you dealing with an individual or a property manager?

If dealing with, let's say an elderly couple, are they not able to do it themselves? Have they tried hiring someone and just can't find anyone?

I would approach this as a partnership, and not start off adversarial and threatening to bill them over small, easy fixes.