# What ends the debt?

Publication correction, November 2, 2026: Austin fee-disclosure ordinance phase-in is based on the number of dwellings the person/provider rents, leases or manages, not necessarily one property’s unit count.


## West Campus leases, Texas law and the moments that cost students money

Research edition • Editorial date November 1, 2026 (America/Chicago); public sources checked November 2 UTC. This report accompanies the native clause ledger, legal controls, operator coverage, case records, source catalog and editable scenarios.


# The finding

The most consequential term in a student lease is often the event that ends the student's obligation. Finding a replacement, paying an administrative charge, obtaining management consent, signing replacement paperwork, transferring keys and receiving a written release can be separate steps. A comparison that records only “subletting allowed” or a dollar fee misses the time during which rent and other liabilities can continue.

The evidence supports three related findings. Individual leasing separates bedroom-rent obligations while some forms retain shared damage debts. Exit fees pay for different processes and do not consistently buy a release. Legal protection changes with the type of debt: rent lateness, a water bill, a security deposit, a deposit-replacement product and a post-move-out damage demand invoke different rules. Those distinctions are the organizing principle of the ledger.

This is an evidence-backed first edition, not a complete census of executed leases. It contains 72 clause observations, 18 legal controls, coverage for the ten named national operator families plus three local groups and the TAA comparator, seven court/enforcement/data-status records, and 63 sources. The strongest current Austin contract obtained is Ion's 2027–28 sample. Torre and Westside supply actual historical forms. Several other operators supply policies and FAQs but no complete current packet. Unknown cells are retained explicitly.

## Where existing work stops

The existing Groundwork directory already does much of the ordinary price work: it reports 161 places and networks, dates its observations, distinguishes payment bases and identifies unresolved charges. The count should not be restated as 161 independently verified apartment buildings. The accompanying student-facts pages already cover guarantors, pets and transfers. This investigation extends those observations with the debt trigger, liable parties, release condition and legal control; it does not claim to have newly discovered the baseline fee tables. The public raw export exceeded the retrieval size limit, so no complete machine join to the underlying dataset is claimed. [S01](https://sulayman-bowles.tech/housing) [S02](https://sulayman-bowles.tech/housing/student-facts)

UT's off-campus guide, the Texas State Law Library and tenant legal-aid explainers already explain contracts, condition photographs, deposits, repairs and subletting. Existing reporting investigates displacement, overbooking and disputes. Academic work on student tenants examines the gap between formal consumer rights and the ability to use them; the student-tenancy article located here concerns the UK and is not Texas authority. Reddit questions help identify confusing moments but cannot establish a contract or a court outcome. [S49](https://offcampus.utexas.edu/moving-offcampus) [S50](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/rent) [S51](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/security-deposits) [S52](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/ending-the-lease) [S55](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/legal-studies/article/whats-law-got-to-do-with-it-is-consumer-law-the-solution-to-problems-faced-by-student-tenants/3307CBEAD325993CADFBACAA27B60366) [S56](https://www.reportingtexas.com/home-sweet-hotel-students-uprooted-from-faulty-student-housing-complex/)

The gap is a join between sources that answer different questions: the advertised promise; the actual dated contract and controlling attachments; the account entry or triggering event; the person legally responsible; the statutory limit; and the document or occurrence that ends the obligation. General guides do not supply that property-by-property join. No claim is made that nobody has previously compared a student lease or that this search was an exhaustive literature review.

Several premises need correction before analysis. Twelve installments do not always mean twelve full months of occupancy, and some properties offer an academic term. An 85% reletting charge is a form term, not a statewide statutory ceiling. A 10% late-fee threshold is not an absolute ceiling either. Paying a transfer fee does not necessarily release either resident or parent. Finally, UT Legal Services' current page says it is not accepting new consultation requests, although an older off-campus guide recommends asking it to review a lease; use the current referral page. [S25](https://www.americancampus.com/student-apartments/tx/austin/the-callaway-house-austin) [S06](https://www.taa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025-Student-Housing-Lease-Contract-SAMPLE.pdf) [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm) [S48](https://studentexperience.utexas.edu/lss) [S49](https://offcampus.utexas.edu/moving-offcampus)

## A lease assigns different debts to different people

For each clause, ask three questions: What event creates the debt? Who can be required to pay it? What event discharges it? The same resident can owe an individual bedroom installment, a share of a common-area repair, a charge for an unauthorized act, and continuing rent while an approved replacement has not completed the process. A parent's guaranty can cover the resulting obligations even when the parent never lives at the property.

This explains why “individual lease” is an incomplete liability description. It can provide real protection against another person's unpaid bedroom rent. That benefit does not answer who pays for unidentified damage in a common room. Nor does it establish whether a parent guarantees only one named resident or everyone on a joint apartment lease. The correct comparison separates rent, utilities, damage, violations, exit charges and collection costs.

The current TAA student form also permits payments to be applied to other unpaid obligations before rent, with an express exception for government-regulated water and wastewater charges. A resident who pays an amount equal to the installment may still have a rent shortfall if other valid charges receive the payment first. This is a mechanism to investigate through account ledgers; the text alone does not show how frequently it happens or whether disputed charges were valid. [S06](https://www.taa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025-Student-Housing-Lease-Contract-SAMPLE.pdf)

The contract packet is the unit of evidence. A main form may be qualified by a Texas addendum, a guaranty, an insurance election, a utility addendum, community policies or a later replacement agreement. Torre's Texas Schedule One expressly subjects base provisions to state law and supplies repair, deposit and lockout qualifications. Reading the broad base language alone would exaggerate what the packet claims. [S12](https://torreatx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Schedule-One-Texas-Sample-Document-1.pdf)

## What the obtainable forms and policies actually show

## Ion: three different exit-related mechanisms

Ion's official sample identifies UH 2100 San Antonio LLC as owner and Scion as agent. It offers a $350 internal transfer, a $200 approved delegation requiring a separate all-party form, and an early-departure credit provision deducting $650. Those are distinct mechanisms. The delegation document was not obtained, so its financial release cannot be inferred. The sample's $1 housing rate is a placeholder and is excluded from every price calculation. [S03](https://ion-austin.com/sample_agreement.pdf)

The early-departure provision describes credit only after all available bedrooms at the property have been assigned and occupied. That creates a concrete legal question under §91.006's nonwaivable mitigation duty. It does not establish that Ion has unlawfully collected rent or that the resident literally guarantees other tenants' installments. The strongest test would pair the clause with the date the vacated bed was re-rented, actual receipts and credits, qualified replacement leads, inventory records and the signed addenda. Continuing to collect without credit after replacement rent was actually received would be a materially stronger issue than merely observing an unfavorable marketing sequence. No decision on this exact clause was found. [S03](https://ion-austin.com/sample_agreement.pdf) [S35](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.91.htm)

The sample also contains a 30-day mechanism to opt out of specified arbitration and class-waiver provisions. A jury-waiver subpart remains textually, but §92.006(h) separately restricts jury waivers for Chapter 92 actions. An opt-out, an arbitration agreement and a statutory jury right require separate entries. [S03](https://ion-austin.com/sample_agreement.pdf) [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm)

## Rambler: the replacement must complete the move

Rambler's published relet explanation charges $500 when the resident finds the replacement and one installment when the property finds the replacement. It describes the resident's release as occurring when the approved replacement picks up keys and moves in. Outstanding balances must be cleared before processing. The explanation does not establish the original guarantor's release. It is an official explanation, originally dated February 2024, rather than an executed agreement. [S09](https://www.rambleratx.com/resources/relet-rambler-apartment/)

This allocates completion risk as well as search work. Even after someone agrees to take the bed, screening, signatures and actual possession can remain unresolved. At an illustrative $1,200 installment, the two advertised finder-fee alternatives are $500 and $1,200. One additional installment of continuing liability would exceed that $700 difference. That is scenario arithmetic, not an observed estimate of delay or a claim that both fees apply.

## Quarters: a calendar gate and costs on both sides

Quarters' current replacement guidelines require all approval, paperwork and payments by the 15th of the preceding month and allow takeover only on the first. They identify a $500 outgoing charge, a $250 incoming application charge and a $100 incoming deposit. Thus $850 of initial cash is required across the two sides, including a deposit; calling that the departing student's $850 exit fee would be inaccurate. The incoming resident takes the apartment as-is, including the policy's stated preexisting-damage responsibility, and existing parking transfers. [S16](https://www.quartersmove.com/_files/ugd/a178bd_6edbed086f0048e59a2159a4569fe9c1.pdf)

Both residents sign a Roommate Replacement Addendum, but that document was not obtained. The published process can be described; release of the original resident or parent remains unknown. In a calendar illustration, completing everything on September 15 permits an October 1 takeover under the stated schedule; completing it September 16 shifts the earliest scheduled takeover to November 1. The one-day change adds 31 calendar days in that example. Availability, approval, lawful mitigation and the actual release agreement still matter. [S16](https://www.quartersmove.com/_files/ugd/a178bd_6edbed086f0048e59a2159a4569fe9c1.pdf)

The current manual creates two additional audit leads. It describes a first water bill posted September 26 and due October 1, and says electricity can be shut off after three days if an account is not transferred from the property's name. The first appears difficult to reconcile with the applicable PUC 16-day billing period if those are the actual delivery and due dates; the second must satisfy the narrow conditions of §92.008. These are potential conflicts requiring actual bills, notices and service arrangements, not established violations. [S17](https://www.quartersmove.com/_files/ugd/a178bd_1b7f9913ac34486185f51373199d8306.pdf) [S36](https://ftp.puc.texas.gov/public/puct-info/agency/rulesnlaws/subrules/water/subchi/24.283/24.283.pdf) [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm)

## Torre: version control changes the comparison

Torre offers an unusually rich public historical packet: an eighteen-page 2022–23 lease, a Texas addendum and a guaranty. The old main form lists $300 for reletting and $200 for internal transfer. A currently linked September 2026 schedule lists $500 and $300, and expressly says it does not modify the signed lease. The historical sample also includes advance replacement timing conditions that cannot simply be assumed current. Groundwork already records the newer fee figures; the contribution here is preserving the version distinction and linking each to its release conditions. [S11](https://torreatx.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Form-Fill-2022-23-GMH-Lease-Agreement_Torre.pdf) [S12](https://torreatx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Schedule-One-Texas-Sample-Document-1.pdf) [S13](https://torreatx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guaranty-Agreement-Addendum-for-Website.pdf) [S14](https://torreatx.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Torre-Fee-Schedule-5.pdf)

The current fee sheet describes $100 on the fifth plus $10 daily thereafter for late payment. It shows no ceiling, while the historical lease states a different formula and ceiling. A one-page sheet's silence does not prove an enforceable unlimited fee. The signed current clause, installment amount and statutory justification are needed. Current resources identify GMH; an older Asset Living case study is not a basis for attributing today's GMH packet to Asset. [S14](https://torreatx.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Torre-Fee-Schedule-5.pdf) [S58](https://torreatx.com/resources/)

## Landmark and Westside: two different forms of shared exposure

The Standard at Austin's 2026 move-out instructions say common cleaning and damage charges are divided equally among roommates; registered-animal damage goes to the registered owner. Returning keys early does not end the published installment, utility or common-area obligations. This is a billing policy, not proof that the unseen contract limits legal liability to that fraction. Its advance inspection timetable also precedes the ordinary July 31 move-out date. [S23](https://thestandardaustin.landmark-properties.com/move-out/)

Westside's posted guaranty is more direct about parents: it covers the obligations of all residents named on the underlying lease and permits direct recovery from a guarantor. That can exceed one child's share where roommates sign a joint apartment lease. It does not prove the same result for every individual-bed guaranty. The form's actual revision is July 2016 despite its 2024 filename, and it requires separate assent for increased rent or changed parties. [S20](https://www.westsidegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Guarantor-Form-2024.pdf)

## The forms also contain useful options

The current TAA student sample provides a conditional 72-hour cancellation opportunity by received written notice, unavailable once the first installment has been received or keys have been issued. That is a contractual option, not a statewide cooling-off rule; application or administration payments should not be silently equated with the first installment. Its presence is a useful counterexample to treating every form as uniformly unfavorable. [S06](https://www.taa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025-Student-Housing-Lease-Contract-SAMPLE.pdf)

## The other operators remain visible as coverage gaps

ACC's current apartment FAQs establish an individual-rent promise but do not supply the missing shared-damage, release and guaranty text. Callaway is an important term counterexample: its FAQ describes approximately 9.5 months of occupancy and ten installments. Its live admission-related cancellation policy uses May 1, 2027 with proof requirements; a stale indexed 2026 date was rejected after checking the live page. Statutory rights still qualify blanket forfeiture or no-cancellation language. [S25](https://www.americancampus.com/student-apartments/tx/austin/the-callaway-house-austin) [S26](https://www.americancampus.com/student-apartments/tx/austin/26-west)

Greystar's official listing establishes Union on 24th management, while the FAQ directs students toward finding a replacement without establishing the exact release or fee. Core's Villas on 24th fee page publishes a relet charge but has an apparent transfer-price typo and potentially duplicated recurring labels. Preiss's current portfolio identifies its Austin properties; no current full packet was obtained. Texan 26's Asset-linked FAQ describes an 85%-of-one-month charge plus a takeover, with possible SMART differences. Yugo's current directory establishes its Austin properties, including Waterloo, but does not supply the missing packet. [S27](https://www.greystar.com/union-on-24th-austin-tx/p_20475) [S28](https://www.unionon24th.com/austin/union-on-24th/faqs/) [S57](https://www.villason24th.com/floor-plans/) [S31](https://www.preiss.com/portfolio/) [S32](https://www.texan26.com/faq) [S33](https://yugo.com/en-us/global/united-states-of-america/austin-tx)

Cardinal requires special care in attribution: Rambler links Cardinal licensing while identifying LV as creator, and the retrieved Skyloft FAQ does not independently establish today's Cardinal management. Skyloft's own explanation nevertheless expressly combines individual leasing with shared common-area responsibility. Developer, manager, legal owner and marketing brand must remain separate. None of these gaps earns a favorable or unfavorable contract score. [S10](https://www.rambleratx.com/faq/) [S29](https://skyloftatx.com/faqs/)

## What Texas and Austin law actually control

## Late rent: a timing rule and a reasonableness test

Section 92.019 requires a written late-fee provision, reasonableness and two full days of unpaid rent after the due date before collection. Initial and daily fees are combined. Fees at or below 10% of rent for the rental period for structures with more than four dwelling units, or 12% for four or fewer, receive a statutory reasonableness safe harbor. Higher charges can qualify under the statute's uncertain-damages and cost test. The rule does not change the rent due date or create a universal eviction grace period. Violations can carry $100 plus three times the unlawful fee collected and reasonable attorney fees. [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm) [S50](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/rent)

The practical test therefore has four stages: identify rent and the applicable dwelling-unit category; establish when it became unpaid; total every fee attributable to that late rent; then compare the charge to the statutory basis. Renaming a rent-lateness charge does not necessarily change its substance. Conversely, a genuine returned-payment, damage or voluntary-transfer charge does not automatically become a rent late fee because it appears on the same account.

## Reletting and parent liability

Section 91.005 ordinarily requires landlord consent to subletting. Section 91.006 requires mitigation after a tenant abandons in breach, and voids contractual attempts to waive that duty. Neither section supplies a general 85% reletting ceiling. The current TAA student form states different 85% calculation bases in its summary and text—installment in one place, defined Rent in another. Both limits could apply together; the difference is not proof of an overcharge or a loophole. Record the completed charge and both bases. [S35](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.91.htm) [S06](https://www.taa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025-Student-Housing-Lease-Contract-SAMPLE.pdf)

Guaranties need their own legal audit. Section 92.021 limits prospective renewal coverage through conditions including a specified cutoff, continuity of parties and restrictions on increased potential rent liability, with separate voluntary written assent at the time of renewal relevant to increased liability. An initial-term damage debt can persist after the term. A broad promise covering renewals does not establish unlimited lawful future liability, and an individual resident's guaranty may still encompass that resident's shared debts. [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm)

## Move-out: deposits, no deposit, and deposit alternatives

Security deposits generally must be returned and accounted for within 30 days after surrender, subject to the tenant supplying a written forwarding address. Ordinary wear cannot be deducted. A condition requiring advance move-out notice to obtain a refund must satisfy the conspicuousness rule. Missing a forwarding address delays the statutory obligation rather than forfeiting the refund; the accounting exception for unpaid rent requires the amount to be undisputed. Classification depends on the payment's function, not simply the name printed on the charge. Since September 2025, this subchapter also expressly recognizes notice to the listed landlord agents and permits email where the parties previously communicated that way, subject to any designated address. [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm) [S51](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/security-deposits)

Bad-faith retention and bad-faith failure to account have different consequences. The former can support $100, three times the amount wrongfully withheld and attorney fees. The latter can forfeit the landlord's deposit retention and premises-damage claim and support fees. A missed deadline can create a rebuttable presumption; it does not establish every element or automatically triple every disputed deduction. The Grace opinion below illustrates the distinction. [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm) [S40](https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/third-court-of-appeals/2014/03-12-00729-cv-0.html)

When the lease requires no security deposit, §92.110 instead requires the specified written notice of claimed damages or charges, with the required forwarding address, on or before credit reporting or referral to a third-party debt collector. It is not a general 30-day post-move-out billing deadline. The statute provides forfeiture of collection for failure to give the required notice and makes that remedy exclusive. This is a substantial difference in procedure, although it does not prove that either deposit model is cheaper or fairer. [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm)

Section 92.111 regulates a fee offered instead of a deposit. It includes deposit-choice and switching protections. Crucially, the fee remains a security deposit unless the signed-agreement and qualifying-insurance conditions are satisfied. Insurance for the landlord does not necessarily insure the resident's possessions or eliminate the resident's damage liability. Separately, the TAA master addendum's insurance-noncompliance charge purchases a month of deferred eviction action; it does not buy insurance or cure the underlying insurance breach. The insurance-related fee is limited to the reasonable cost of obtaining and administering that insurance. A landlord seeking payment from that insurer must give the required itemized indebtedness notice within 30 days after surrender. The landlord cannot collect the same insured payment again from the tenant, although the insurer may have a conditioned reimbursement claim. These are separate protections from §92.110. Compare the legal product before comparing its price. [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm) [S08](https://www.taa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025-Master-Lease-Addendum-FINAL-SAMPLE.pdf)

## Water: actual numerical caps and a separate clock

Covered submetered or allocated water/wastewater billing follows PUC rules. The due date generally must allow at least 16 days after mailing or hand delivery; a written-agreement late penalty is one-time and at most 5%. A service charge for qualifying submetered service is capped at 9%, subject to exceptions. That 9% is not a universal allowance for every utility administration charge. Payment usually goes to rent before utilities unless the tenant clearly designates otherwise or a third-party billing company receives payment. [S36](https://ftp.puc.texas.gov/public/puct-info/agency/rulesnlaws/subrules/water/subchi/24.283/24.283.pdf) [S37](https://ftp.puc.texas.gov/public/puct-info/agency/rulesnlaws/subrules/water/subchi/24.281/24.281.pdf)

The rules also govern disclosure, billing formulas, corrections and written dispute responses. Certain final bills can be calculated before the owner receives the utility's bill, so “estimated” does not by itself establish illegality. The appropriate audit asks what method was used, what actual costs followed, what credit was owed and whether a contractual deadline improperly restricts the regulatory correction process. [S36](https://ftp.puc.texas.gov/public/puct-info/agency/rulesnlaws/subrules/water/subchi/24.283/24.283.pdf) [S37](https://ftp.puc.texas.gov/public/puct-info/agency/rulesnlaws/subrules/water/subchi/24.281/24.281.pdf) [S61](https://ftp.puc.texas.gov/public/puct-info/agency/rulesnlaws/subrules/water/subchI/24.279/24.279.pdf)

## Repairs, access, utilities and lawful exits

Chapter 92's repair framework concerns qualifying health/safety conditions and hot water, rent status when notice is given, notice method and a reasonable opportunity for diligent repair. Seven days is a rebuttable reasonable-time presumption, not a promise that every defect must be fixed within seven days. Second notice is often needed unless the first uses a specified delivery method. Repair-and-deduct has strict conditions and a general ceiling of the greater of one month's rent or $500; a tenant should not infer a broad right to stop paying rent. [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm)

A delinquency lockout is tightly conditioned and is not an eviction. When the statute permits the lock change, the landlord still must provide the required key access on request regardless of payment and maintain the specified 24-hour access mechanism. Lost-key assistance is a different event. Utility interruption is generally prohibited except for authorized repairs, construction or emergencies, with a separate narrow landlord-billed-electricity nonpayment exception; unpaid rent does not create a general shutoff power. [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm) [S53](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/lockouts)

Texas also recognizes conditional exits for specified family violence, sexual offenses or stalking, military events, sole-occupant death and wholly unusable casualty. Proof, notice, timing and liability differ. Ordinary graduation, withdrawal, a roommate disagreement or financial hardship does not automatically create the same right. A signed contract cannot erase nonwaivable statutory rights. [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm) [S52](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/ending-the-lease)

## Disclosure, copies and dispute procedure

Austin's 2026 ordinance first applies to covered properties with 50 or more dwelling units on October 1, 2026, and to five through 49 on January 1, 2027. It requires fee disclosure at the earlier of quoting rent or before application and requires fixed mandatory recurring charges in advertised rent. It excludes damage, lease violations and similar charges. A voluntary approved transfer may instead be a covered optional fee; it would be inaccurate to exempt every fee involving departure. Disclosure is not a price ceiling or automatic tenant compensation. [S38](https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=475334)

Section 92.024 generally requires a complete lease copy within three business days after all parties sign; noncompliance does not simply erase the agreement. Section 92.006(h) restricts jury waivers for Chapter 92 actions, but does not by itself resolve every arbitration or class waiver. The 2026 eviction-notice rules in §24.005 are separate again: the ordinary three-day framework can be modified by a written lease, and specified nonpayment circumstances now require an opportunity to pay. Interpretations of the prior-lateness condition have differed; the ledger preserves that uncertainty rather than inventing a universal grace rule. [S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm) [S60](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/?artSec=24.005&chapter=PR.24&code=PR&tab=1) [S54](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/eviction-process)

## What Travis-related litigation has actually established

American Campus Communities v. Berry arose in Travis County and reached the Texas Supreme Court in 2023. The historical leases omitted statutorily required repair-remedy information. The court reversed class certification because the omission alone did not trigger the monetary penalties asserted. That result illustrates the difference between a required term, a claimed violation and an available remedy. It is not a judicial endorsement of every ACC clause or proof that the statutory text is optional. [S39](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1456289/210874.pdf)

Grace v. Thompson, a 2014 Third Court of Appeals majority decision from Travis County, separated bad-faith failure to account from bad-faith retention. It sustained important accounting-related relief, subject to a remittitur, but reversed and remanded the treble-retention award because repair-cost evidence created a factual dispute. The case was not established as a West Campus student property; its value is the remedy distinction. [S40](https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/third-court-of-appeals/2014/03-12-00729-cv-0.html)

Austin Hill Country Realty v. Palisades Plaza, a Travis-origin commercial case, supplies the Texas Supreme Court's objectively reasonable mitigation framework. Its setting and date matter: it predates §91.006's express nonwaiver provision and does not decide Ion's student clause. It supports asking about suitable replacements and avoided losses, not declaring a particular housing operator liable. [S41](https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/tx-supreme-court/1013257.html)

A 2018 University House overbooking dispute reportedly ended in a $4,500 settlement before testimony. The Daily Texan report is evidence of a reported settlement, not a merits judgment; the executed settlement and complete docket were not obtained. PUCT docket 57688 concerning Moontower supplies a separate utility-billing lead and an indexed lease exhibit. Full exhibit retrieval failed and the docket's disposition was not verified. Regulatory party submissions are not court findings. [S42](https://thedailytexan.com/2018/11/05/lawsuit-against-university-house-ends-with-4500-settlement/) [S43](https://interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/57688_3_1475033.PDF) [S62](https://interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/57688_18_1504227.PDF)

The FTC/Colorado Greystar matter adds relevant advertising-enforcement context: the official December 2025 announcement describes a $24 million resolution of mandatory-fee allegations. It is not a Travis County student-lease judgment and does not establish a particular West Campus tenant's entitlement to a refund. [S44](https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/greystar-et-al-ftc-colorado-v) [S63](https://search.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/greystar-agrees-pay-24-million-stop-deceptive-advertising-practices-result-ftc-colorado-lawsuit)

## The eviction-rate hypothesis remains unmeasured

No defensible operator eviction-per-bed ranking was produced. Eviction Lab's public Travis methodology identifies ZIP-level geography, insufficient for assigning filings to a particular building. BASTA advertises a richer local dashboard, and the Travis law-library guide points to justice-court records, but this research did not obtain a complete address-and-plaintiff extract over several years. Failure to retrieve a case is not evidence of zero filings. [S45](https://evictionlab.org/eviction-tracking/methods/) [S46](https://bastaaustin.org/en/eviction-dashboard) [S47](https://lawlibrary.traviscountytx.gov/search/court-records)

The numerator should distinguish filings, unique tenancy disputes, judgments for possession, dismissals and executed writs. Repeated filings against one tenancy are not several independent evictions. Money claims and small-claims damage disputes belong in a separate series. To match a filing, retain a normalized property address, the legal plaintiff and any manager acting as agent, with role start and end dates. A brand-name search alone will miss LLC plaintiffs and misattribute management changes.

The denominator should be bed-years available during the same period, or a clearly identified alternative such as occupied bed-years if reliable occupancy data exist. A newly opened tower's current advertised capacity cannot be applied retroactively to earlier years. Academic seasonality, pandemic-era restrictions, filing-policy changes, property age and subsidized units can affect comparisons. Report raw counts and coverage with rates, suppress unstable small denominators and avoid causal claims about management from an unadjusted ranking.

Prepared extraction specification: case identifier; court and precinct; filing date; case type; rental-premises address; plaintiff legal name and agent; claimed amount; hearing/disposition date and code; possession judgment; writ issuance and execution dates; dismissal; appeal link; source and extraction date. Tenant names are unnecessary for a public property ledger. Preserve a restricted deduplication key only if authorized and essential. The present workbook deliberately publishes no tenant identities or fabricated rates.

## Measures that make the comparison useful

Total scheduled commitment is the sum of installments plus applicable mandatory charges, less documented concessions. Keep the occupancy term separate from the payment count. In the workbook's hypothetical example, twelve $1,200 payments equal $14,400; using the accommodation for nine months makes that $1,600 per month actually used before additional charges. That does not turn an installment into a monthly rent quote or assume every property has that term.

Exit exposure equals applicable processing or termination charges, plus rent until lawful release, plus any replacement subsidy and valid concession recapture or damage, less credits and refunds. Do not add mutually exclusive alternatives together. The useful new fields are the earliest permitted takeover date, resident release event, guarantor release event, and the documents needed to prove each.

Release delay is the time from a qualified replacement being ready to the event that actually ends liability. Public documents can sometimes establish calendar gates, as at Quarters, but cannot establish an empirical average delay. Record unknown rather than invent a score. A lower administrative fee can coexist with more expensive continuing rent; measuring the completed exit requires actual dated agreements and account statements.

Confidence has separate dimensions. Confidence that a posted sample contains certain words can be high while confidence that it governs a particular resident remains low. Confidence in a statute can be high while the application to a disputed charge remains fact-dependent. A reported settlement has a different evidentiary status from an appellate holding. The workbook separates these dimensions instead of compressing them into one harshness grade.

## Hypotheses: keep, qualify, or reject

Keep: the expensive departure and move-out moments reveal distinctions that an advertised installment does not. The evidence supports different finder fees, takeover calendars, release events, allocation rules and documentation deadlines.

Qualify: individual leasing does protect bedroom-rent obligations in the official explanations. Shared damage and other obligations coexist with that protection. There is no empirical basis here to say fees take back “most” of the benefit.

Keep with precise scope: some fee categories sit outside the rent-late-fee or deposit framework, but labels alone do not remove statutory protection. Water rules and fee-in-lieu rules can supply their own limits. The fee's function and trigger must be classified before judging it.

Keep as a conditional finding: the Westside all-residents guaranty can bind a parent beyond one child's share on a joint lease. The evidence does not justify saying every parent guarantees every roommate's rent.

Unresolved: operator eviction rates may vary, but this investigation did not measure them. Reject an operator league table until current packets and case-level data are sufficiently complete. Missing publication should never improve a landlord's score.

# Source register

Source IDs match the companion workbook. “Current” describes publication or the stated term, not proof of execution by every resident. Historical revisions and access limitations are retained. Public sources were checked November 2, 2026 UTC.

[S01](https://sulayman-bowles.tech/housing) Groundwork housing directory — Existing baseline; Live; source dates vary. 161 places and networks, not necessarily 161 distinct buildings; no raw export obtained.

[S02](https://sulayman-bowles.tech/housing/student-facts) Groundwork student facts — Existing baseline; Live; dated observations. Existing guarantor, pet, transfer and fee observations; proposed patches are in Integration.

[S03](https://ion-austin.com/sample_agreement.pdf) Ion Austin sample agreement — Official current sample; Dated 2026-08-24; term 2027–28. 9 pages; $1 housing rate is a placeholder; delegation and guaranty missing.

[S04](https://ion-austin.com/policies.pdf) Ion community policies — Official incorporated policies; Revised 2025-08-21. Separate lost-key assistance from delinquency lockout.

[S05](https://ion-austin.com/faqs/) Ion FAQ — Official FAQ; Live. Individual rent explanation; not a complete liability statement.

[S06](https://www.taa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025-Student-Housing-Lease-Contract-SAMPLE.pdf) TAA student housing lease — Statewide sample form; Revised October 2025. 7 pages; not attributed to any property without its packet.

[S07](https://www.taa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Lease-Contract-Guaranty-New-Brand-SAMPLE-FOR-WEBSITE.pdf) TAA guaranty — Statewide sample form; Revised October 2021. Upload date does not establish revision date.

[S08](https://www.taa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025-Master-Lease-Addendum-FINAL-SAMPLE.pdf) TAA master addendum — Statewide sample addendum; October 2025. Insurance noncompliance fee is not insurance.

[S09](https://www.rambleratx.com/resources/relet-rambler-apartment/) Rambler relet explanation — Official policy explanation; Originally 2024-02-14; live. Replacement keys and move-in are the described release event.

[S10](https://www.rambleratx.com/faq/) Rambler FAQ — Official FAQ; Live; 2026–27 term shown. LV creator and Cardinal licensing are different roles.

[S11](https://torreatx.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Form-Fill-2022-23-GMH-Lease-Agreement_Torre.pdf) Torre lease — Historical official sample; 2022–23; uploaded May 2023. 18 pages; historical amounts must not populate current fee cells.

[S12](https://torreatx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Schedule-One-Texas-Sample-Document-1.pdf) Torre Texas Schedule One — Official sample addendum; Revised October 2018. Texas provisions qualify base lease; execution/incorporation needed.

[S13](https://torreatx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guaranty-Agreement-Addendum-for-Website.pdf) Torre guaranty — Official sample guaranty; Revised September 2022. Resident obligations; broad continuation language subject to §92.021.

[S14](https://torreatx.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Torre-Fee-Schedule-5.pdf) Torre fee schedule — Current published fee policy; September 2026 URL; currently linked. Expressly not a lease modification; signed lease controls.

[S15](https://torreatx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/GMH-Communities-Resident-Handbook-Oct-2024.pdf) GMH resident handbook — Official handbook; October 2024. Current executed incorporation unverified.

[S16](https://www.quartersmove.com/_files/ugd/a178bd_6edbed086f0048e59a2159a4569fe9c1.pdf) Quarters subleasing guidelines — Current published policy; Linked as 2026 guidelines. Replacement addendum not obtained; release unknown.

[S17](https://www.quartersmove.com/_files/ugd/a178bd_1b7f9913ac34486185f51373199d8306.pdf) Quarters resident manual — Current published manual; Linked for 2026–27. Late table end is not proof of a ceiling.

[S18](https://www.quartersmove.com/_files/ugd/a178bd_74477c3a5684494da1dfdc22206006ea.pdf) Quarters move-out letter — Published move-out policy; July 2026 context. Contains stale September 30, 2025 dispute deadline.

[S19](https://www.westsidegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Sample-Lease-Agreement-01012024.pdf) Westside sample lease — Historical official TAA sample; ©2022; valid only if filled before 2024-01-01. Apartment lease; not demonstrated to be per-bed.

[S20](https://www.westsidegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Guarantor-Form-2024.pdf) Westside guaranty — Historical official form; TAA revised July 2016; Redbook 2018. Filename 2024 is not revision date.

[S21](https://www.westsidegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Move-Out-Notice-Form-2024.pdf) Westside move-out notice — Official form; Currently linked; revision unverified. Acknowledgment and release are distinct options.

[S22](https://www.westsidegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Move-out-cleaning-checklist-costs.pdf) Westside move-out costs — Official policy; Undated current link. Amounts are demands, not adjudicated debts.

[S23](https://thestandardaustin.landmark-properties.com/move-out/) Standard at Austin move-out instructions — Official policy; 2026. Published billing allocation; unseen contract could differ.

[S24](https://thestandardaustin.landmark-properties.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Move_Out_Charge_List_The_Standard_at_Austin_2026.pdf) Standard at Austin charge guide — Official estimated charges; 2026. Some extracted price fields unreliable; only clear entries used.

[S25](https://www.americancampus.com/student-apartments/tx/austin/the-callaway-house-austin) Callaway House Austin FAQ — Official FAQ; Live; cancellation cutoff 2027-05-01. Rechecked live; stale indexed 2026 cutoff excluded.

[S26](https://www.americancampus.com/student-apartments/tx/austin/26-west) 26 West official page — Official FAQ; Live. Full current contract unavailable.

[S27](https://www.greystar.com/union-on-24th-austin-tx/p_20475) Greystar Union on 24th listing — Official operator listing; Live. Management attribution; legal owner unverified.

[S28](https://www.unionon24th.com/austin/union-on-24th/faqs/) Union on 24th FAQ — Official FAQ; Live. Replacement needed; fee and release not established; the live page retains dated 2024–25 items.

[S29](https://skyloftatx.com/faqs/) Skyloft FAQ — Official FAQ; Live; 2027 move-in advertised. Shared responsibility explicit; current Cardinal attribution not established here.

[S30](https://corespaces.com/properties/view-all) Core Spaces portfolio — Official operator portfolio; Live. Villas on 24th; separate owner/manager identities.

[S31](https://www.preiss.com/portfolio/) Preiss portfolio — Official operator portfolio; Live. Axis, Signature 1909, 21 Pearl, Venue and Villas on Guadalupe.

[S32](https://www.texan26.com/faq) Texan 26 FAQ — Official FAQ; Live. Asset-linked property; SMART terms may differ.

[S33](https://yugo.com/en-us/global/united-states-of-america/austin-tx) Yugo Austin directory — Official operator directory; Live. Nueces, Corner, Rio and Waterloo; current contracts unknown.

[S34](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/docs/PR/htm/PR.92.htm) Texas Property Code chapter 92 — Controlling statute; Current text checked 2026-11-02 UTC. Use exact section; remedy and waiver rules differ.

[S35](https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.91.htm) Texas Property Code chapter 91 — Controlling statute; Current text checked 2026-11-02 UTC. §§91.005–.006 consent and nonwaivable mitigation.

[S36](https://ftp.puc.texas.gov/public/puct-info/agency/rulesnlaws/subrules/water/subchi/24.283/24.283.pdf) PUC 16 TAC §24.283 — Controlling regulation; Current published rule. Covered water/wastewater; not all utility charges.

[S37](https://ftp.puc.texas.gov/public/puct-info/agency/rulesnlaws/subrules/water/subchi/24.281/24.281.pdf) PUC 16 TAC §24.281 — Controlling regulation; Current published rule. 9% submetered service charge cap; statutory exceptions.

[S38](https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=475334) Austin ordinance 20260528-045 — Executed ordinance; Adopted 2026-05-28; phased effect. 50+ dwellings October 1, 2026; 5–49 January 1, 2027.

[S39](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1456289/210874.pdf) ACC v Berry, Texas Supreme Court — Court opinion; 2023-04-21; No.21-0874. Travis origin; class certification/remedy holding.

[S40](https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/third-court-of-appeals/2014/03-12-00729-cv-0.html) Grace v Thompson majority — Court opinion, republication; 2014-07-03; 03-12-00729-CV. Majority URL includes -0; deposit remedies distinguished.

[S41](https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/tx-supreme-court/1013257.html) Austin Hill Country Realty v Palisades Plaza — Court opinion, republication; 1997; 948 S.W.2d 293. Travis commercial lease; not a student-contract ruling.

[S42](https://thedailytexan.com/2018/11/05/lawsuit-against-university-house-ends-with-4500-settlement/) Daily Texan University House settlement report — Contemporaneous reporting; 2018-11-05. Reported $4,500 settlement; not liability judgment.

[S43](https://interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/57688_3_1475033.PDF) PUCT 57688 lease exhibit — Regulatory filing, indexed only; 2024–25 lease in later docket. Full PDF retrieval blocked; no full-packet review or verified disposition.

[S44](https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/greystar-et-al-ftc-colorado-v) FTC Greystar case page — Federal enforcement record; 2025–26 materials. National/Colorado fee-disclosure action; not Travis ruling.

[S45](https://evictionlab.org/eviction-tracking/methods/) Eviction Lab tracking methods — Research methods; Current public description. Travis source ZIP geography insufficient for property attribution.

[S46](https://bastaaustin.org/en/eviction-dashboard) BASTA eviction dashboard — Local research/data source; 2014 onward advertised. No address-level extraction or operator denominator completed.

[S47](https://lawlibrary.traviscountytx.gov/search/court-records) Travis court-record search guide — Official court access guide; Live. JP portal is not a completed multi-year dataset.

[S48](https://studentexperience.utexas.edu/lss) UT Legal Services for Students — Official service status; September 2, 2026 update. Not accepting new consultation requests; referral options.

[S49](https://offcampus.utexas.edu/moving-offcampus) UT moving off campus guide — Official student guide; Live. Lease review advice; referral claim should use current LSS status.

[S50](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/rent) Texas State Law Library rent guide — Official explainer; Live. Reasonableness threshold is not absolute late-fee cap.

[S51](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/security-deposits) Texas State Law Library deposit guide — Official explainer; Live. Forwarding address and bad-faith distinctions.

[S52](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/ending-the-lease) Texas State Law Library ending lease guide — Official explainer; Live. Statutory exits are conditional.

[S53](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/lockouts) Texas State Law Library lockout guide — Official explainer; Live. Delinquency lockout is not eviction.

[S54](https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/eviction-process) Texas State Law Library eviction guide — Official explainer; 2026 rules. Some SB38 notice applications remain interpretively contested.

[S55](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/legal-studies/article/whats-law-got-to-do-with-it-is-consumer-law-the-solution-to-problems-faced-by-student-tenants/3307CBEAD325993CADFBACAA27B60366) Walsh, consumer law and student tenants — Academic research; 2021. UK setting; conceptual comparison, not Texas authority.

[S56](https://www.reportingtexas.com/home-sweet-hotel-students-uprooted-from-faulty-student-housing-complex/) Reporting Texas student displacement — Local reporting; 2025. Conditions/displacement coverage, not contract census.

[S57](https://www.villason24th.com/floor-plans/) Villas on 24th floorplans and fees — Official fee policy; Live. Transfer printed \#300; possible duplicated recurring fee labels.

[S58](https://torreatx.com/resources/) Torre resources — Official document hub; Live. Current GMH role; historical Asset case study does not control.

[S59](https://www.rambleratx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Rambler-ATX-Fee-Guide.pdf) Rambler fee guide — Official historical fee guide; April 2025. Pet fee differs from current FAQ; retain separate observations.

[S60](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/?artSec=24.005&chapter=PR.24&code=PR&tab=1) Texas Property Code §24.005 — Controlling statute; 2026 text. Notice to vacate/payment; not rent late-fee grace.

[S61](https://ftp.puc.texas.gov/public/puct-info/agency/rulesnlaws/subrules/water/subchI/24.279/24.279.pdf) PUC 16 TAC §24.279 — Controlling regulation; Current published rule. Rental agreement disclosure and billing-method change.

[S62](https://interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/57688_18_1504227.PDF) PUCT 57688 respondent filing — Regulatory pleading; Docket material. Party position; no adjudicated violation inferred.

[S63](https://search.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/greystar-agrees-pay-24-million-stop-deceptive-advertising-practices-result-ftc-colorado-lawsuit) FTC Greystar resolution announcement — Official enforcement announcement; 2025-12. $24m announced resolution; scope differs from local contract claims.


## Supporting data downloads

The public package contains curated, dated aggregate snapshots, dataset definitions and source notes. Its Excel workbook contains values, rather than the original editable formulas. The source and formula notes describe the reproducible scope.

- [Curated data, definitions and source notes (ZIP)](/research/deep-research/data/west-campus-lease-exit-and-liability-support.zip)
- [Curated tables, values only (Excel)](/research/deep-research/data/west-campus-lease-exit-and-liability/support.xlsx)
- [Primary comparison table (CSV)](/research/deep-research/data/west-campus-lease-exit-and-liability/clauses.csv)
- [Dataset definitions (JSON)](/research/deep-research/data/west-campus-lease-exit-and-liability/definitions.json)