If you’re a UT student living in West Campus, it’s likely that you’ll have to decide during your fall semester where to live for the next school year. As the 2025-2026 student housing leasing season begins, you may be considering what’s best for you – renewing your lease or moving to another property.
Read Next: Moving vs. Renewing: Which is Right for Me?
We want to make sure you feel fully prepared to make this decision. To help you make an educated choice, we’ve put together the ultimate guide to student apartment renewals in West Campus.
In this article, we will cover our most-asked questions about renewals:
- What is renewing? What is the renewal process?
- What are the benefits of renewing?
- When should I sign my renewal lease?
- Why did my rent increase?
- How much have student housing rents increased?
- Do rents increase more at new apartments than older developments?
What is renewing? What is the renewal process?
In student housing, a lease renewal is when you sign a new lease for the next school year for the unit you currently live in.
After move-in for the current school year, the leasing staff will begin the renewal process for the following year. The renewal period usually starts anywhere between a few days and a few weeks after move-in, however this will vary depending on the property. Renewals are typically offered before leasing is open to the general public.
Typically, renewals will be quoted at lower rates than new leases. This is due to the saved costs from not having to turn over the apartment. Prices on renewals are typically not negotiable.
What are the benefits of renewing?
1. Lowest rates of the season
If you renew as soon as renewals open, you will likely get the lowest rental rate for the year.
This is because most student housing apartments follow a tier system. Apartment complexes will often divide their individual bed spaces into tiers, with different pricing rates at each tier. The first leases will be signed with first-tier rates, which are the lowest priced. After the first-tier spots fill up, spots in the second-tier will then be leased at a slightly higher price, and so on.
Since renewals are typically offered before leasing opens to the public, they will usually get the lowest rates.
2. No moving fees
Another great benefit is the added convenience of staying in your unit, avoiding the hassle of moving after only one year. You won’t have to spend any extra money on fees, storage units or movers.
3. No moving out
Typically, student housing leases end in late July, with the next lease starting a few weeks into August. During this gap, you may need to find storage for your belongings, secure temporary housing, or travel home. By renewing your lease, you can avoid these hassles altogether.
4. Keep the same roommates
Having good roommates can have a huge impact on your overall living experience at a property. If your friend group lived well together during your first lease, it’s a good idea to consider renewing your lease. You will all live in the same location with the same people, so you will know exactly what to expect.
5. Comfort
When you choose to renew your lease, you choose to stay in an environment you know is comfortable. Having lived there for a year or more already, you will be accustomed to the property’s amenities, community, staff and policies. You’ll have a clear understanding of what to expect for the coming year when you sign your lease.
When should I sign my renewal lease?
We recommend signing your renewal lease as soon as you know you want to renew! This way you are able to secure your current unit at the lowest possible rate.
As mentioned above, most student housing apartments follow a tier system in which the base rate of a floor plan increases or decreases based on the amount of units leased. So, aside from occasional deals or discounts, rates will be lowest when leasing first opens.
Since renewals are offered before leasing is open to the public, they are typically offered at the lowest available tier.
Read Next: 5 Benefits of Signing Your Lease Early in West Campus
Why did my rent increase?
It’s common for rent prices to increase each year, not just in student housing apartments in West Campus, but across most apartments nationally. Most lease renewals come with a rent increase, typically a minimum of 3% year-over-year, which largely mirrors inflation. Due to recent inflation trends and rising costs, rent prices have grown significantly in recent years to keep pace.
The amount that rates increase varies by floorplan, and is also dependent on when you sign your lease.
How much do rates typically increase at student housing apartments in West Campus?
If you’re a UT student, you know that student housing can be costly.
As UT enrollment is currently at a record high and still growing (up almost 1,000 from Fall 2022 to 2023), more students are moving to Austin and are looking for housing in the area, particularly in West Campus. This is characteristic of student housing throughout the Southwest region, which is currently 92.3% leased for the current school year.
Due to this high demand and limited supply, the Southwest region saw a 5.0% increase in student apartment rents last year. Nationwide, student apartment rents went up by 6.6% last year.
Does rent increase more at new apartments than older developments?
Yes, new developments typically have higher increases than the overall market for their first year of renewals. This is due to the property not being fully built yet, and the advantage of having a finished building to tour.
For new apartments, there is a small chance that they may not be built in time for residents to move in at the beginning of the school year. To offset this, rental rates at new apartments may be lower compared to buildings that are already completed.
Once a building opens, students have the opportunity to tour the building before they move in. This gives you a chance to see the quality of the construction and finishes, and to get a feel for the layout of the units, rather than relying on renderings or virtual tours to get an idea of what the unit will be like.
We hope that this article has helped prepare you to make an informed decision about renewing your lease. If you have any questions, please contact our leasing team – we’re happy to help!
