The UT Tenants’ Union called for limits on early leasing and for apartment complexes to “take accountability” for delayed move-ins affecting students in recommendations presented to the city of Austin’s Planning Department on Feb. 18.
The UT Tenants’ Union met with the Planning Department to discuss possible policy updates to the University Neighborhood Overlay, known as UNO. Its recommendations focus on limiting early leasing, where residents sign an agreement months before moving in, and banning pre-leasing agreements that lock students in before the terms of the lease are finalized.
The union also recommended banning any incentives or penalties that pressure tenants into quickly signing a lease, according to a working draft of the union’s UNO policy recommendations from Justin Lanier, union policy director and second-year graduate student in the LBJ School of Public Affairs.
UNO is a density bonus program allowing apartments to be built higher and with more units that developing sites in West Campus can opt into. Part of the requirements of participating in the density bonus is to provide affordable units and bedrooms, along with standards for installed sidewalks, trees, benches and grasses. Different sub-districts within the program might require additional community benefits, said Alan Pani, principal planner for the Planning Department.
A delayed move-in is when a tenant’s unit is not ready for occupancy by the start of the lease term, according to a presentation of the UNO Update. Lanier said developers in West Campus are letting students sign leases on apartments that are not fully constructed. He said this creates a risk that the unit might not be ready when the student is ready to move in.
“Imagine showing up on the first day of your lease and your landlord says, ‘Sorry buddy, you got to wait two weeks, you got to wait a month,’” Lanier said. “I think it’s pretty clear when you put yourself in those circumstances just how a (delayed move-in) could be disruptive to your academic success.”
Residents of Rambler Apartments experienced delayed move-ins before the fall 2023 semester due to construction delays, said Dylan Davis, a radio-television-film junior and former resident of the apartment complex. The Texan previously reported the apartment management team offered displaced residents compensation, including a $200 digital gift card for every day displaced and $500 in reimbursement for moving or storage costs.
“While the apartment was being finished, I booked and stayed at the Moxy hotel for a week with the expectation Rambler would be complete by then,” Davis said in an email. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t, so I had to book an Airbnb for a few more nights.”
In its meeting, the Planning Department presented the formal proposal to the UT Tenants’ Union. Lanier said the proposal will go before the city of Austin’s Codes and Ordinances Committee, the Housing and Planning Committee and finally the City Council for a vote in May, all of which are open to the public.
“Participation is always very welcome,” Pani said. “That’s true for any constituents, whether you’re a student or you’re a business owner or just a resident of UNO, (participation) is always going to help impact the visibility for council.”
