Cheap apartments in Baytown: the honest rent guide

The numbers

The housing page carries posted rents by complex and bedroom count, pulled from the complexes' own sites and dated when they were pulled. We don't type those numbers into this page because they change monthly. The housing page is the truth, sorted low to high, and the ten lowest are flagged there. The one-bedroom and two-bedroom averages above are a rough market band, not a quote: Rentometer's apartments-only average was about $1,031 for one bedroom and $1,223 for two as of January 10, 2026. The median home in Baytown was built in 1981, so "older" is not the exception here, it is the normal stock, and the cheap end of the rent table is the oldest end of that stock.

Where cheaper is

- The older complexes along the freeway and lower Garth. The cheapest rents in the city, the oldest buildings, the most turnover. Ask about the AC and the water heater before the lease, and drive the parking lot after dark before you sign. - The north side and Cedar Bayou. Fewer complexes, more duplexes and garage apartments, found by driving and by the classifieds rather than online. The library's bulletin board still works. - Highlands and Crosby. Cheaper than Baytown for the same square feet. The trade is the commute and the river. - Rooms and shared houses. The turnaround crews created a market for them, and the RV parks are the honest comparison for a short job. The park models at Quality RV Resorts' Mont Belvieu RV Resort, 6103 S. FM 565, run $500 a week or $1,470 a month for a one-bedroom and $520 a week or $1,600 a month for a two-bedroom on the resort's rates page; a rental travel trailer there is $369 a week or $1,285 a month. For six weeks that beats a lease. - Your own rig on a pad. Cedar Grove Park RV Resort, 4419 N. Highway 146, posts monthly sites from about $593 to $913 plus electric at 15 cents a kilowatt-hour, with a $125 deposit, water, sewer, internet and laundry included. Its rates page carries a 2022 effective date, so treat those as a floor and ask. The office is open weekdays 9 to 6 and weekends 9 to 3.

Where it isn't

Mont Belvieu's new builds, the newer Garth-side complexes with the pools and the gates, anything with "luxury" in the name. Good places. Not cheap. The extended-stay hotels by the month are not cheap either, but they include everything and no lease.

What cheap buys and doesn't

Cheap here usually means older, no gate, a window unit or an old central system, and a landlord who's local. It doesn't have to mean unsafe, but ask the office about lighting, gates and break-ins, and look at the lot at night. Flood zone matters more than price on the Bayway side and near the bayous; check the map before the deposit. Drive the route to work at shift-change time. And check the internet for the exact address. It's the one utility that varies by building.

Moving in, step by step

1. Look at the building at nine at night, and check the flood map for the street. 2. Apply, and write down every recurring fee beside the rent. 3. Pay the deposit, and ask in writing what the complex bills separately for water, trash and pest control. 4. Set up the city water account (below) and get the internet provider's name before you sign. 5. Photograph the unit before you move anything in. Those photos are what the itemized deposit list gets measured against. 6. When you leave, give a forwarding address in writing.

Turning on the water

The city's water account is the utility you set up yourself. For a renter the city asks for a $200 deposit and a $30 new-service connection fee, a driver's license or ID, and either your lease or a utility billing form signed by your landlord. Next-day connection is available. The billing office is at 2401 Market Street. The city adopted higher water and sewer rates for fiscal year 2027, which began October 1, 2026 (water up 4.5 percent, sewer up 12.4 percent), so don't trust a rate you saw last year, and ask any complex that bills water back to you what it charges per month.

The fees

Application fees, admin fees, pet fees, and the deposit: the housing page lists them where the complex posts them. Texas caps none of them, so the posted number is the number. The deposit is the one with a law behind it: the landlord has to refund it on or before the thirtieth day after you surrender the premises, and has to give you an itemized list of any deductions. Two things trip people. Give the landlord your forwarding address in writing, because the deadline waits for it. And read the notice-to-vacate clause, because a lease can require advance written notice of move-out. That requirement only holds if it is underlined or in conspicuous bold print in the lease. For the rules in plain language, see the Texas State Law Library's guide to security deposits.

The turnaround effect

Before a big turnaround, the month-to-month units and the furnished rooms fill and the prices move. After, they empty. If you're flexible, sign in the off weeks. The turnaround guide tells you what a turnaround looks like in town.

Cheap here usually means older, no gate, a window unit or an old central system, and a landlord who's local.

Help

The Baytown Housing Authority is at 1805 Cedar Bayou Road, open Monday through Thursday from 7 to 12:30 and 1:30 to 5:30 and closed Fridays. It runs 112 public housing units at Dezavala Courts, Edison Courts, Olive Courts and Sam Houston Place, manages 833 housing choice vouchers, and operates Lincoln Courts (30 units) and Alexander Place (36 mixed-finance units). Its site doesn't post whether the waiting lists are open, so ask before you plan around it. The county's rental assistance and the nonprofits that help with deposits are on the moving-here page. The churches know the landlords who'll wait a week.

Before you go

Look at the building at nine at night, not at the leasing office at two in the afternoon. Check the flood map for the street before you pay a deposit, because the water matters more than the rent on the Bayway side. Bring a lease or a landlord-signed utility form to the city billing office at 2401 Market Street, plus $230 for the renter deposit and connection fee. And keep the move-in photos.

Questions people ask

What's the cheapest rent in Baytown? The housing page, low to high, with dates.

Are there income-restricted apartments? Yes. The housing page marks them, and the Baytown Housing Authority runs the public units and vouchers.

Month-to-month? The extended-stays and some older complexes. Ask, and expect a premium.

Can I rent a trailer instead? Yes. At Mont Belvieu RV Resort a rental travel trailer is $369 a week on the resort's rates page.

Before the deposit: the housing page for the number, the flood map for the street, and one drive past the building at nine at night. Then Sterling Municipal Library, 1 Mary Wilbanks Avenue, open Monday to Thursday 10 to 8 and Friday and Saturday 10 to 5, closed Sunday, where the bulletin board has been known to carry the garage apartment nobody put online.

En español

Apartamentos baratos en Baytown

Los apartamentos baratos en Baytown existen, pero compare el costo total, no solo la renta anunciada. Como referencia, Rentometer calculaba en enero de 2026 un promedio de unos $1,015 para una recámara y unos $1,250 para dos recámaras en Baytown; lo más barato está por debajo de eso, en los edificios más viejos. La página de vivienda tiene las rentas publicadas por complejo y recámaras, con fecha, ordenadas de menor a mayor; no las escribimos aquí porque cambian cada mes. La casa típica de Baytown se construyó en 1981, así que lo viejo es lo normal.

Dónde es más barato

Los complejos viejos junto a la autopista y la parte baja de Garth; el lado norte, con dúplex y apartamentos de garaje; y Highlands y Crosby, con el trueque del trayecto al trabajo y el río. Para un trabajo corto, los parques de RV alquilan casas modelo y remolques: en Mont Belvieu RV Resort, una casa modelo de una recámara cuesta $500 por semana o $1,470 por mes, y una de dos recámaras $520 por semana o $1,600 por mes; un remolque de alquiler cuesta $369 por semana o $1,285 por mes. En Cedar Grove Park RV Resort, los sitios mensuales van de unos $593 a $913 más electricidad, con un depósito de $125; esa lista tiene fecha de 2022, así que pregunte.

Dónde no

Las construcciones nuevas de Mont Belvieu y los complejos nuevos de Garth con piscina y portón suelen costar más. Los hoteles de estancia prolongada tampoco son baratos, pero incluyen todo y no piden contrato.

Qué se compra con una renta baja

Lo barato suele ser más viejo, sin portón, con aire de ventana o un sistema central viejo, y con un dueño local. Pregunte por la iluminación y los robos, y vea el estacionamiento de noche. Revise la zona de inundación y el internet de la dirección exacta antes del depósito, y maneje la ruta al trabajo a la hora del cambio de turno.

Pasos para mudarse

1. Visite el edificio a las nueve de la noche y revise el mapa de inundaciones. 2. Solicite y anote cada cargo recurrente junto a la renta. 3. Pague el depósito y pregunte por escrito qué cobra aparte el complejo por agua, basura y control de plagas. 4. Abra la cuenta de agua de la ciudad y anote el proveedor de internet. 5. Fotografíe la unidad antes de meter sus cosas. 6. Al salir, entregue su dirección nueva por escrito.

El agua de la ciudad

Un inquilino paga un depósito de $200 y $30 de conexión, y presenta su identificación y su contrato o un formulario firmado por el dueño. La conexión puede hacerse al día siguiente. La oficina de facturación está en 2401 Market Street. La ciudad aprobó tarifas más altas de agua y drenaje para el año fiscal 2027, que empezó el 1 de octubre de 2026 (agua 4.5 por ciento más, drenaje 12.4 por ciento más).

El depósito

En Texas ningún cargo de solicitud tiene tope. El depósito de seguridad debe devolverse a más tardar 30 días después de que usted deje la unidad, con una lista detallada de descuentos; entregue su dirección nueva por escrito. Si el contrato exige aviso previo de mudanza, solo vale si está subrayado o en letra negrita visible.

Ayuda

La Autoridad de Vivienda de Baytown está en 1805 Cedar Bayou Road; abre de lunes a jueves de 7 a 12:30 y de 1:30 a 5:30, y cierra los viernes. Administra 112 unidades de vivienda pública y 833 vales de vivienda; pregunte si las listas de espera están abiertas. La Biblioteca Municipal Sterling (1 Mary Wilbanks Avenue) abre de lunes a jueves de 10 a 8, viernes y sábado de 10 a 5, y cierra los domingos.

Sources

- City of Baytown, water utility accounts: https://www.baytown.org/300/Water-Utility-Accounts - Texas Property Code 92.103: https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_92.103 - Texas State Law Library, security deposits: https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/security-deposits - Rentometer, average rent in Baytown: https://www.rentometer.com/average-rent-in/tx/baytown-tx - Mont Belvieu RV Resort rates: https://www.qualityrvresorts.com/destinations/houston/mont-belvieu-rv-resort/rates/ - Cedar Grove Park RV Resort rates: https://cedargrovepark.com/rates/ - Baytown Housing Authority: https://baytownhousing.org