Warning: Long, Detailed Review
I was not planning on making a review for this property; however, I thought it out and realized it might help other people from experiencing the same issues I experienced during my time here.
I moved into a studio one-bedroom apartment, on the Third Floor, on July 13, 2024. I was the first tenant in this room since construction ended in February 2024. My tour guide was a younger woman named Jessica, who was very nice and ended up helping me so much during my first few weeks at the Dakota. Unfortunately, work moved me out of state only a month into my lease, however I stayed committed to the lease I had signed with no issues on my end. In April 2025, I added a garage to my lease, which was priced at an additional $200 a month. Still not a big deal as I had just purchased a new car and wanted peace of mind while I was out of state. I also decided to renew my lease as I still liked having my own place when I was back home in Houston. My rent between May 2025 and December 2025 was between $1,700 and $1,800 depending on utility usage. In December 2025, I contacted Dakota to break my lease. The upfront cost to break the lease was (One month's rent) + (Half a months rent) + (Reletting fee), which added up (~$1,700 + $850 + $1,105) = $3,655. As per the agreement, you are also responsible for the following 2 months rent after submitting the lease termination request, which added together, was $3,655 + $3,400 = $7,055. Annoying but I can't blame that on the apartment as that was listed in the lease I signed.
The following are every problem I experienced during my 1.5 years at the Dakota:
1. My first issue was in the first two weeks after move-in. I had just purchased groceries and while I was at work, my brand-new refrigerator stopped working. I had to throw almost everything out and maintenance had to replace my refrigerator. I had to replace every appliance eventually.
2. You might have seen other reviews mention ants and other bugs. I can attest that the ants are insane and I had ants like crazy for the first month or so. It was a terrible caulk job and they were coming in through holes in the caulk. I eventually managed to superglue each hole as I discovered them and the solution seemed fixed after about 2 months after move-in.
3. Elevators break constantly and despite being new, they are always down for repairs. Eventually I got into the habit of not even walking down to the elevators and chose to use the stairs despite being on the 3rd floor.
4. While out of state, I have received 3 calls on 3 separate instances that I need to respect the quiet hours starting at 10 pm. It seems that even determining which room is the actual culprit is too difficult. I became worried that maybe someone had broken into my room while I was gone and asked if they could reassure me that my room was still vacant. I never received a call back and had to have a family member drive in from out of town and check on the apartment.
5. Between the months of August 2025 and November 2025, my garage key was tied into another garage on the other side of the building. During my time out of state for work, this meant that the owner of the other garag unknowingly opened my Garage 77 whenever they opened their garage door. I came home the first time to find my garage door open exposing my new Shelby GT350 and other personal belongings. This also compromised the safety of the community as the door inside the garage that led to the bottom of the apartment building did not require a keyed access like all other doors to get inside. Due to the building being one building, this compromised safety of every single tenant inside the building. I submitted a work order to get it fixed as I suspected someone else had a key that was programmed wrong initially. I was told the issue was resolved. I come back a month later and the garage door is open once again. I submitted another work order and decided to do something that was beyond comprehension of any staff, maintenance or executive owner: I chose to drive through the complex and see if my garage door opener opened any other garage doors. Turns out that is how I discovered the other garage owner who was opening my door on accident. I had to submit the video to maintenance and staff for them to finally do anything. I had to manually operate my door after this because I did not trust them to actually fix the issue.
6. Dakota planned the parking situation poorly and will not admit the parking lot is terribly designed. Unfortunately, you can choose to walk the entire distance from the rear of the property, or you can pay for a garage space like I did. However, be aware that if you purchase a garage space, you no longer have rights to park in any other spaces, including free non-reserved spaces.
7. Finally, someone stole over $400 worth of gift cards and materials from my mailbox during the process of moving out.
I absolutely do not recommend this apartment. read more
