Tx – Apartment Charging “back Pet Rent” + $500 Violation Even Though Pets Are On Lease Since 2019. Looking For Lawyer Advice/help (dallas Area).

Location: Addison, Texas (Dallas County)I’m looking for advice and hopefully a referral to a tenant/landlord attorney in the Dallas area who can help me. I’m not asking anyone here to be my lawyer, just trying to understand my options and how serious this is.In 2019, I moved into my current apartment. From day one, my two cats have been fully disclosed and listed on the lease (and subsequent renewals). The lease has always reflected that I have two cats, and it included a $25/month pet rent. For a while, the property charged and collected this pet rent, and I paid it as part of my monthly rent.Recently, new management started claiming there is an “unauthorized pet” in my unit and issued a lease violation plus a $500 fee. They are now also saying:That we “never disclosed” our pets,That we “never paid” a pet deposit, andThat they “haven’t been charging” pet rent for some time and want to bill back pet rent and call it a violation.This is not accurate. Our cats are on the lease. We were paying pet rent when they billed it. If they stopped charging it at some point, that was never communicated to us, and we had no reason to believe anything was wrong. Now they’re trying to treat their billing error as our “lease violation.”It gets worse: management is claiming their maintenance manager “inspected” our unit and has notes saying we didn’t let him into one of the rooms. That “inspection” never happened. He has not inspected the interior of our unit in relation to this allegation, and we never refused access to any room. I believe these notes are false or fabricated.There’s also some history here:Previously, we were hit with a $50 lease violation fee that was also bogus. At the time, we paid it because we couldn’t get them to remove it and didn’t want trouble.The same maintenance manager once told me to install fire-stop fire extinguishers myself (which I understand is a building/management responsibility, not a tenant’s). I have a handwritten note from him instructing me to do this.I’ve already:Disputed the violation and the $500 fee in writing.Denied the alleged inspection and refusal of entry.Pointed out that our cats have been on the lease since 2019 and that any failure to bill pet rent was their own error.I’m continuing to pay my regular rent on time because I want to stay in good standing and just live peacefully, but I do not agree that I owe back pet rent or a $500 “violation” when my pets have always been disclosed and approved.My questions:In Texas, can an apartment legally claim back pet rent and call it a lease violation when the pets have been on the lease since day one and they simply stopped billing correctly?Can they use this to justify large fees, threaten eviction, or damage my record if I refuse to pay the back charges and “violation” fee?What is the best way to protect myself while still paying normal rent (e.g., paying only base rent and formally disputing the rest in writing)?For those familiar with Dallas County / North Texas, are there specific tenant lawyers or legal aid organizations you’d recommend who handle situations like this?I have documentation: the lease and pet addendum showing the cats and pet rent, past ledgers showing pet rent being charged, the recent violation notices, my dispute emails, their responses, and the handwritten note from the maintenance manager.I’m mainly looking for guidance on (a) whether this is something a Texas court would likely see as a legitimate claim by the landlord or as harassment / improper billing, and (b) how to find a lawyer who will actually take this seriously without me getting buried in fees I can’t afford.Thanks in advance for any direction or referrals.