Hello fellow Houstonians,

My apartment complex got bought out in December, which has led to a slew of unwanted changes in the apartment complex.

For starters, I live in a 500 SQF apartment near Gulfgate. My rent started out at $725, with utilities being payed on a as used basis paid through the apartment complex (usually around $35), and electricity through whatever company I wanted. Since being bought out, rent has stayed the same, but they increased the price of my cat rent (now $35), they set a standard price of the utility bill to be $75, and now we also have to pay for any parking on site ($20 per car, $40 for me as I have two). In total, I am now paying $150 more for rent than what I was two months ago. On top of these extra charges, they have also implemented some rather silly policies (such as no BBQ pits, bicycles, or patio furniture on the patios, and no public BBQ facilities available) and specific parking rules like no backing into parking spaces.

Does anyone have any experience dealing with this type of situation? I would really like to leave, but my lease doesn't expire until August, and I don't have the monetary means to pay to break the contract. I feel stuck in something that I never would have agreed to; especially when I could get a nicer apartment closer to downtown and in a nicer area for only a few hundred dollars more a month.

Thanks in advance for any or all advice!