Skip to main content

Learn · Guides

Guides for renting a new apartment in Dallas

Short, sourced answers to the questions that change your monthly price: specials, fees, renewals, electric, tolls and timing.

Get my shortlist Open the tools
  • Free to you, and your rent is the same either way
  • 120 new communities tracked
  • Prices pulled every morning
Lease pages and a calculator on an oak desk in a new apartment
  • Licensed brokerage Spirit Real Estate Group, TREC #562021
  • Every price dated Every price dated and sourced
  • Commission-blind Commission never touches our score or sort
  • Corrections logged Corrections logged within one business day

Before you sign anywhere

Budget, fees, electric, leases and approval. These apply to every new building.

New apartments in Dallas
Explainer Dallas PFC and Income-Restricted New Apartments: Who Qualifies How Dallas PFC, LIHTC and Essential Worker units work, the 2026 TDHCA income limits, and how to check if you qualify at a new building. Explainer Electric at a New Dallas-Area Apartment: Oncor, TNMP, CoServ, or GP&L 94 of 120 new buildings let you pick a plan. See Oncor, TNMP, CoServ and GP&L at your address, deposits, and how to set it up. Explainer How to Spot a Fake Apartment Listing in DFW Scam listings copy new-building photos and prices. Learn the warning signs, how to verify with the leasing office, and what to do if you paid. Explainer Lease Red Flags at a New Dallas Apartment The clauses to read before signing at a new Dallas building: concession repayment, RUBS water, renewal terms, early exit and the flood notice. Explainer Pets in New DFW Apartments: Pet Rent, Fees, and Breed Rules How pet rent, pet fees, deposits and breed or weight limits change the all-in price at new Dallas-area buildings, including BTR yards. Explainer Renting a New Apartment With Roommates in Texas How roommate applications, income tests and joint liability work at new Dallas buildings, plus how to split fees and electric. Decision guide Required Fees at New DFW Apartments: What the Fee Survey Found At 12 new DFW buildings, required fees ran $43 to $226.88 a month, median $141.50. See the common fee lines and how to get them in writing. Explainer The 3x Rent Income Rule: Base Rent or Effective Rent? Most new buildings want about 3x the rent, but some use base rent and some use effective rent. Pre-check approval before paying a fee. Explainer When to Start Looking: Lease Timing for a New Apartment A timeline from your current lease end to move-in at a new Dallas building: notice periods, how long units and specials hold, and pre-leasing. Decision guide Your All-In Budget for a New DFW Apartment: Rent, Fees, Electric, Water, Tolls Set an all-in budget before you tour: net effective rent, required fees, electric, water, parking and tolls, with the math shown.

Apartment Specials

Current specials with the term, end date, net effective and year-two price shown side by side.

Open Apartment Specials
Decision guide 12 vs 15 Months: Which Lease Term Gets the Better Special How lease term length changes net effective rent and renewal timing, why some specials need 16 to 17 months, and unstated minimum terms. Decision guide Break Your Lease for a Better Special, or Wait? Does a new special cover the cost of leaving early? Compare termination fees and concession repayment with the months you have left. Explainer How to Renew a New-Build Lease: The Month-10 Renewal Check Renew with current comps in hand: compare your renewal offer to nearby specials at month 10, ask for a matched concession, or move. Explainer The Year-Two Jump: Why Rent Rises After a Move-In Special Renewals price from base rent, not the special. At the median special, year two jumps about 20%. See the formula and how to plan for it. Decision guide Upfront Free Weeks vs Prorated Specials: Which Costs Less Upfront free weeks and prorated specials can have the same net effective rent but different cash flow and exit risk. Compare both. Explainer What Is Net Effective Rent? How Weeks Free Become a Monthly Number Net effective rent = (base × months − free rent) ÷ months. See the formula, a worked Dallas example, and why gift cards are shown separately. Explainer Your Special Is Missing From the Ledger: What to Do If your promised concession isn't on your rent ledger, check the addendum, document it in writing and escalate. Steps and who can help.

Where it usually goes wrong

1

The special is spread over a 12 to 24-month term

Eight weeks free sounds like two months of rent. Spread over a 15 or 18-month lease, it lowers your monthly number less than you think.

2

Required fees sit outside the base rent

At 12 board buildings, required fees ran $43 to $226.88 a month, median $141.50 (fee survey, Oct 25, 2026). The ad shows none of them.

3

Renewals price from base, not the special

When the special ends, your renewal starts from base rent. At the board median special, year two jumped about 20% on Oct 25, 2026.

So we price every building after the special, the fees and year two, and we confirm it in writing.

Rather we run the numbers?

Text your move date, budget, and where you work. You'll get buildings decoded and tolls priced within hours.

Find your ground-up new build

Text your move date, budget, and where you work. You'll get buildings decoded and tolls priced within hours.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
Step 1 of 3: timing, size, budget and area

Include fees, parking, and tolls

Free to you, and your rent is the same either way. Spirit Real Estate Group, LLC (TREC #562021).

About our guides

Who writes these guides?

The New Dallas Apartment Team, licensed under Spirit Real Estate Group, LLC (TREC #562021). Every number is sourced and dated.

How often are the guides updated?

When a source changes, such as an NTTA rate, a utility charge or a state rule. Corrections are logged within one business day.

Do the guides recommend specific buildings?

No. Guides explain the decision. For building picks, send us your move date, budget and job and we send our top two with the tradeoff.

Are property prices typed into the guides?

No. Property prices come from the morning feed. Worked examples are labeled: Illustration, values as of Oct 25, 2026; live page uses the feed.

Is your help free?

Yes. Communities pay the brokerage, and your rent is the same either way.

Can you guarantee a price or approval?

No. The community sets both, and we confirm them before you sign.

Tell us your move date. We make the calls.

Text your move date, budget, and where you work. You'll get buildings decoded and tolls priced within hours.

Get my shortlist See the New Build Board

Free. Your rent is the same either way. Same day during hours.

We don't guarantee pricing or approval. The community sets both, and we confirm them before you sign.