May I just say that everyone (OP especially) should carefully read Charles' post. IANAL, but I do work in real estate, and from the training and knowledge I have of property issues (again, NOT A LAWYER), he is exactly right. You likely do have grounds to get out of the lease, consult an attorney and work toward that resolution quickly. Why would you want to stay in a crime-infested complex if you didn't have to, regardless of your ability to legally carry a weapon? Caveat: I do understand that consulting an attorney could be cost-prohibitive.Charles L. Cotton wrote:Depending upon the crime in your area and the security provided by the owner and/or manager, you may have grounds to get out of the lease. Contact an attorney in your area.
BTW, if you do open-carry in the common areas, you're going to quickly find out that the common areas are not "your property" for purposes of TPC §46.02. In order to be "your property" the property has to be owned by you or under your control. The right to enter and use the "common area" is not tantamount to being able to control it.
Chas.
He is also exactly right that the "property under your control" is paramount in this case. As I understand it (third time, IANAL), you can legally carry within the walls of your apartment unit and nowhere else (unless, as stated, you're walking to and from your vehicle). So there is no legal basis for a non-CHL to be roaming the common grounds of an apartment with a concealed handgun. If you rented a "single family residence" (a house), my understanding is you could legally carry within the property lines of that property. A multi-family property (duplex, triplex etc) is a bit more of a grey area.
Other posters have made decent suggestion in a dire situation that you could open carry a long gun, but this is not without it's own potential pitfalls - scare your neighbors enough and you could conceivably get some sort of "distrurbing the peace" charge from an over-active LEO.
Again, my suggestion would be to do everything you can to get out of the lease and out of that apartment complex.