Guides for renting a new Austin apartment
Plain answers on specials, fees, year two, lease-ups, utilities, commutes, and approval, each with sources and dates.
- Free to you, and your rent is the same either way
- 144 new communities tracked (as of Oct 25, 2026)
- Prices pulled every morning
- Licensed Texas brokerage Spirit Real Estate Group, LLC, TREC #562021
- Free to renters Communities pay the brokerage. Your rent is the same either way.
- Prices pulled every morning Every card shows the date and time it was pulled
- Score can't be bought Commission rates never affect score, sort, placement, or picks
Before you search: costs, approval, and move-in
Austin Energy vs. PEC vs. Bluebonnet: Electric at New Apartments
Electric depends on the address. Across 144 new Austin-area buildings: Austin Energy 83, PEC 28, Bluebonnet 13, Georgetown 3, Oncor 16 (Oct 25, 2026).
How to Set an All-In Budget for a New Apartment
Turn a monthly budget into net effective plus fees plus utilities, then check move-in cash, 24-month totals, and year two before you tour.
How to Waive Utility Deposits With a Letter of Credit
A 12-month letter of credit from your current utility can waive deposits at Austin Energy ($200), PEC (up to $150), and Georgetown ($250). The steps and timing.
Income Requirements at New Apartments: 3x Base Rent or 3x Effective Rent?
Most new Austin buildings want about 3x the rent. A few test against rent after the special. How to check which before you pay an application fee.
Is an Apartment Locator Free in Texas? How Locators Get Paid
Communities pay the brokerage, and your rent is the same either way. How locator commissions work in Texas and why they never affect our score.
Lease Addenda Red Flags in a New-Build Lease
Concession repayment, RUBS, fees, renewal, early exit, military waiver, late fees, and the Texas flood notice: the eight addenda to read before you sign.
New Apartment Tour and Move-In Checklist
What to check on a new-build tour and in the first 48 hours: sound ratings, HVAC sized for a 99°F design day, finished amenities, and the move-in condition form.
Rental Scams Around New Construction: How to Spot Them
Fake listings using renderings, payment before a tour, and agents you can't verify. How to check the leasing office and a TREC license before you pay.
Renting a New Apartment With Pets: Fees, Rent, and Rules
Pet deposit vs. pet fee vs. monthly pet rent, breed and weight rules, and how pet rent changes true monthly at new Austin buildings.
Required Monthly Fees at New Apartments: What They Cover and Cost
At 12 board buildings, required fees ran $78-$228 a month (median $120.50, Oct 25, 2026). What they cover, property-billed water rules, and Austin's fee ordinance.
New Build Board
Open New Build Board
How to Compare New Apartment Buildings Side by Side
Compare on true monthly, year two, and 24-month total, not headline rent. Then add stage, what's finished, and fee disclosure.
Parking at New Apartments: Garage, Reserved, and Surface Costs
Garage, reserved, and surface parking change true monthly. How parking charges, EV charging, and guest rules work at new Austin buildings.
Renderings vs. the Real Unit: What a New-Build Listing Doesn't Show
Renderings, model units, and your actual unit differ on view, floor, and finish. What to ask for before you sign, and how a live video walk helps.
Rent Now or Wait? Austin New-Build Supply in 2026 vs. 2027
Deliveries fall from about 13,000-14,900 in 2026 to about 7,000 in 2027. What that timing window means for specials and your move date.
Where New-Build Vacancy Is Highest in the Austin Metro
Far North 25.0%, San Marcos 19.9%, Northeast 17.0%, Southeast 16.2% (Matthews Q2 2026). What vacancy means for room to ask on a new apartment.
Specials
Open Specials
12-Month vs. 15-Month Lease on a New-Build Special
More weeks free on a longer lease can cost more or less. Compare net effective, renewal month timing, and 24-month totals before you choose.
Concession Payback Clauses: When You Owe Free Rent Back
Leave early and a concession addendum can require you to repay free rent. What triggers it, and how upfront vs. prorated specials change your exposure.
Upfront vs. Prorated Concessions vs. Gift Cards: Which Is Worth More
Same weeks free, three formats. Compare move-in cash, monthly cost, and payback exposure, with gift cards kept outside net effective.
What Is Net Effective Rent and How Do You Calculate It?
Net effective = (base × months − free rent) ÷ months. $1,172 base with 10 weeks free on 12 months is $947 (as of Oct 25, 2026). The formula, a worked example, and its limits.
What to Do When Your Special Is Missing From the Ledger
Check your ledger at day 7 and day 30, use the written special as evidence, and raise it in writing. We take it up with the community and report back.
Year-Two Rent After a Concession: How the Renewal Jump Works
Renewals price from base rent. 10.8 weeks free on 12 months means about +26% at the same base. How to see year two at 0% and +3% before you sign.
Lease-Ups
Open Lease-Ups
Are New Apartments Soundproof? What STC and IIC 50 Mean
The 2024 IBC sets STC and IIC 50 as the minimum between units. What the ratings mean, how building types differ, and what to test on a tour.
How Specials Change as a New Building Fills
Fill rate and revenue management pricing drive special depth. How to read the fill curve and price history, and when to sign during a lease-up.
Moving Into a Building That's Still Finishing: Amenities and Construction
Pool and gym open dates, phase construction noise and dust, and the questions to ask in writing before you sign at a new Austin building.
The Day 7 and Day 30 Punch List in a New Apartment
Common new-build defects, the 48-hour move-in form, and written punch lists at day 7 and day 30, followed up in writing.
What Is a Lease-Up Apartment?
A lease-up building has its Certificate of Occupancy and is filling its first units. How lease-up differs from pre-leasing and stabilized, and why specials run deepest.
Opening Soon
Open Opening Soon
How Pre-Leasing Works: Holds, Deposits, and Sight-Unseen Units
Holding deposits, picking a floor plan sight unseen, hard-hat tours, and price locks: the pre-leasing steps and what's refundable.
Pre-Lease or Move Now? Choosing Between Opening Soon and Open Today
Weigh your current lease end, special depth at pre-lease vs. lease-up, delay risk, and 24-month totals before you choose.
What Happens When Your New Apartment Move-In Date Slips
Certificate of Occupancy delays, what the lease says about late delivery, and your options: hold, switch buildings, or release.
Build-to-Rent
Open Build-to-Rent
Build-to-Rent Home vs. New Apartment: How to Decide
Compare true monthly side by side, plus space, garage, and yard against amenities, utilities, and commute.
What Is a Build-to-Rent Home?
Build-to-rent homes are new detached homes or townhomes leased like apartments. How leasing works, who maintains the yard, fees, and specials.
Income-Restricted
Open Income-Restricted
Income-Restricted vs. Market-Rate Unit in the Same New Building
Rent caps vs. specials, annual recertification, whether specials apply, and the same finishes: how the two unit types compare in one building.
Using a Housing Voucher at a New Austin-Area Apartment
HFC buildings must accept vouchers (§394.9026). FY2027 FMR 1BR $1,530; AHA payment standard 1BR $1,650. Where vouchers work at new buildings.
Who Qualifies for Income-Restricted Units: 60% AMI Limits in Travis County
TDHCA 2026: 60% AMI for 2 persons is $64,560, and the 60% max 2BR rent is $1,815 in Travis County. How to check eligibility and which documents you'll need.
Near Work
Open Near Work
How to Choose a New Apartment by Commute
Drive vs. transit, tolls added to true monthly, and I-35 downtown work from 2027 to 2033: a commute decision flow for new Austin apartments.
Renting Near a Hospital Shift: New Apartments by Drive Time
Free-flow vs. shift-change drive times, parking at both ends, and new buildings within a short drive of your hospital.
Samsung Taylor and Tesla Giga Texas: SH-130 Drive Times and Tolls From New Builds
SH-130 routes, monthly toll cost, and where new buildings sit in Manor, Hutto, Pflugerville, and Del Valle for Samsung and Tesla commutes.
Near Transit
Open Near Transit
Moving to Austin
Open Moving to Austin
Leasing a New Apartment Remotely: Video Walks and Sight-Unseen Leases
Live video walk of the actual unit, a written fee sheet, e-signing addenda, and scam checks for leasing a new Austin apartment from out of town.
Toll Roads Around Austin: What 183A, SH-130, and SH-45 Add to a Commute
Toll roads by corridor, how to estimate a monthly toll bill, TxTag basics, and how to add tolls to your apartment's true monthly.
Tell us what you need. We make the calls.
You don't have time to call 20 leasing offices. We do, and confirm the unit, the special, and the written fee sheet the same day during hours.
- 1 Same day We call or text during hours with a shortlist plan.
- 2 In writing Unit, special, end date, and fee sheet confirmed before you tour.
- 3 Year two shown Every pick shows year two at 0% and +3%, plus a 24-month total.
Prefer to talk? Call or text 512-000-000, Mon-Fri 8 AM-8 PM · Sat 9 AM-6 PM · Sun 12-5 PM.
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About our guides
Direct answer first, then the source and date. If your question isn't here, ask us on the form or by text.
Who writes these guides?
The New Austin Apartment Team, a team of Spirit Real Estate Group, LLC (TREC #562021). Each guide shows who wrote it, who reviewed it, and when it was updated.
How current are the numbers in the guides?
Every figure names its source and date. Property prices and specials appear only as dated illustrations; the live board shows current numbers from the feed.
Which guide should I read first?
Start with net effective rent and required monthly fees. Together they explain most of the gap between a headline price and what you'll pay.
Can you guarantee a price or approval?
No. The community sets both price and approval. We confirm them in writing before you sign.
Can I ask a question that isn't covered?
Yes. Send it on the form or by text and we'll answer it, and add it to a guide if others are likely to ask.
Keep comparing
New Build Board
Every in-scope community on one map, with base rent, the special, net effective, true monthly, and year two pulled every morning.
Specials
Specials confirmed within the last 7 days, each decoded to net effective and year two, with base rent shown beside every discount.
Lease-Ups
Buildings already open and filling, sorted by stage and fill estimate, with what's finished and what the special does to your monthly cost.
You don't have time to call 20 leasing offices. We do.
Send us your move date and all-in budget. We confirm the unit, the special, and the written fee sheet the same day during hours, then show you year two before you tour.
We don't guarantee pricing or approval. The community sets both, and we confirm them before you sign.