DALLAS RENTER GUIDE
Irving, Garland and Richardson all sit just outside Dallas city limits, and plenty of renters end up in one of them. Communities in each city set their own broken lease rules. Tell us where you’d live, whether that’s near Love Field, up US 75 toward Richardson or southwest in Oak Cliff.
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“Dallas area” is a fine place to start, but it covers a lot of ground. Tell us the parts of Dallas you want to live in and which nearby cities you’d consider.
Then there’s your broken lease: when it happened and what’s still owed. Some communities will consider you with the balance still unpaid. Others want it settled or paid in full. We match those rules to your income, move date and the areas you want, and build your list from there.
Tell us early about anything else that could come up in screening, so we can ask communities about that too. Having a housing problem where you live now? The local help section below explains the city and county programs, which serve different areas.
Where your old lease was doesn’t change your apartment search. Just tell us where you want to live next. Got an open eviction or court case? Legal help will ask which county it was filed in. A Dallas County program may not cover a case filed somewhere else.
The map on your list shows where each recommended community sits. Riding the bus or train? Check the route from any of those addresses with the DART trip planner.
We tell you which third party guarantor companies the communities on your list accept. A guarantor is a company that backs your lease for a fee. Once you pick a community, confirm the unit, the price and the fees, and name us as your locator on the application. A guarantor fee isn’t a refundable deposit, and an assistance program may not cover it. Run the real quotes you get through our guarantor quote guide and move in planner. A citywide average won’t tell you what you’ll pay.
Facing an eviction in Dallas County? Start with the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center. For help with bills through the city, first check that your current address is inside Dallas city limits. A Dallas area mailing address doesn’t count, and neither does a plan to move to Dallas.
These outside groups set their own rules on who qualifies, and they’re separate from our apartment search. Asking them for help doesn’t pause a court deadline, and it doesn’t mean you’ll get money or a lawyer. Programs change often, so call to confirm what’s open.
Legal help taking requests
Who or where: Dallas County tenants facing eviction
DEAC says it offers free eviction advice and a lawyer in court to Dallas County tenants, whatever their income or immigration status. Ask whether they’re taking new cases. Getting in touch doesn’t mean a lawyer has taken your case.
Your next step: Call 469-436-2704 or use its contact page, and have your citation, court name and hearing date ready.
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Not taking rental applications right now
Who or where: City of Dallas residents; help depends on who qualifies and how much money is left
The city’s Social Services page says its rental assistance program is not accepting applications. You can still call the intake line to ask what other help, like utility aid, is open right now. Only this one city program is closed, not every source of help in Dallas County.
Your next step: Call 214-670-8416 on a weekday morning. Before you pull together an application, ask whether your address qualifies.
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Where to get court records
Who or where: The court that actually handled your case
The District Clerk sends people looking for Justice of the Peace records to the JP office that heard the case. A general district court search won’t show your full eviction history.
Your next step: Go by the court name on your citation or screening report. Ask that clerk for the final order and any other case papers. Legal aid can explain what those papers mean.
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You have to qualify first
Who or where: People who qualify in its North and West Texas service area
LANWT takes applications for housing, debt and other civil legal problems. DEAC may not handle a problem that isn’t a Dallas County eviction. In that case, check who LANWT helps and where its offices are.
Your next step: Apply through the official Get Help page, and tell them your county and any deadline coming up.
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Ask the agency which documents it needs and send them the way it asks. Our tools never ask you to upload court papers or ID.
If a screening report is wrong, use our denial and report review guide. Court records, your landlord’s payment history and screening reports each show something different. Paying a balance doesn’t delete the record. Use the preparation kit to organize what you know.
We keep a log of the kinds of broken leases Dallas apartment communities tell us they’ll consider. That covers recent and older breaks, paid or settled balances, accounts in collections and no rental history since. We add to it each time we talk with a leasing office, and your list comes from it. If a community’s rule isn’t clear for your situation, we call and ask. Rules change, and the community always decides whether to approve you.
Each resource on this page links to the agency, court or transit system that runs it, so you can check the details at the source. Funding and open appointments change, so go by what the agency tells you, not by what you read here.
Found a change? Send our team the official source.