As an older resident, for a year and a half, my perspective may be a little different from most. I am not a student and have lived in many apartment complexes as my computer contract work takes me to many different cities and countries world wide; though this was my first experience with sharing a four bedroom unit. When I first came to UC, I signed a lease for a specific apartment which was very clean. The layout was good, and the place was easy to maintain. My roommates were great (summer interns at AMD) and we got along with the management well. The original management team was caring and responsive to any concerns or needs.

After my roommate s internships ended and as the fall semester was starting UC got new management, I was asked to move (on two days notice) into a two bedroom unit, temporarily, to accommodate the new management and housing needs. I did as requested and was not happy with the results. The new apartment was in an older building and was infested with ants and roaches. Requests for an exterminator were ignored by the new management. The walls and windows leaked so badly water would pool in the windowsill and run down the wall, and things stored in the closet mildewed badly. Repeated attempts to get the problems fixed did no good. During one storm, several shingles from our building (and others) blew off and it was months before they were replaced. The toilets often clogged, especially in the mornings. Fortunately, I had a plunger and after repeated attempts, I finally got it working consistently.

The new management seems to be in place simply to collect the rent and make sure the place doesn't burn down; but I wouldn't bet on that last item. We had a Saturday night fire alarm because someone had opened the water purge valve for the fire sprinklers. Management didn't show up until Monday morning to secure the valve and received a citation from the fire department for refusing to respond to their calls on Saturday night.

Violence is also reported to be a problem (though is not common that I am personally aware of). During student registration, in the fall of 2006, the police had to be called to stop a bloody fist fight between two people who had just moved in (one arrest). When talking to the Police Area Representative I was told that this area has the highest crime in the city and that included domestic violence, rapes, and homicides. Despite this, the gates on the driveways are almost always broken and left open, especially on weekends. Anyone has access to the campus as the pedestrian gate locks are missing.

After six months in the new, two bedroom, apartment, I was finally moved back to a four bedroom unit facing the extreme south end of the complex. The new unit was a pig-sty. The kitchen walls were covered in grease; the oven was encrusted with filth and set off the fire alarms if you used it. The sink gagged you with the stink of rotting garbage. The counter tops had crud stuck to them and the floors and cupboards were sticky to the touch. The carpets hadn't been vacuumed. The place was filthy and disgusting (the bedrooms had been newly painted). Complaints to the management were not responded to until I filed a report with the City Health Inspector. After a week of eating out, I cleaned everything but the oven because I couldn't stand living like that. UC waited until the very last day to take action on the health complaint and finally sent someone over who did clean the oven.

I discovered the bed was contaminated with bed bugs and had to move the mattress out of the apartment. The management got a new mattress, after a week of sleeping on the floor. The bed bugs returned as management never call the exterminator. UC claims to match based on your preference information; however one of my last roommates to move in was a heavy smoker, placed in an apartment of existing non-smokers, and we had asked for non-smokers only. This was over the summer when much of the complex was empty.

Every Saturday night the local riff-raff gather in the parking lot across the fence and blast their sound systems, drink, and do drugs (you can see people buying from particular cars), squeal their tires, and drag race until 2:00 A.M., or the cops finally show up (usually an hour or more after you call). Half an hour after the police leave, the party starts all over again and you can forget sleeping. Complaints to the office and requests that they ask for more police presence did no good. When I contacted the Austin Police, they said none of the local apartments or businesses had filed complaints (the businesses are closed at night). I went to the mall businesses and pointed out that drug and drunken parties in their parking lot were not good for business. It was in their interest to ask for police presence on the weekend. They did, and that got a cruiser patrolling every couple of hours (response time for calls dropped to about 15 minutes). Theft in the complex is common. I had a cell phone stolen from my car while moving into a new apartment. Other tenants have had tools stolen. If you have anything valuable, keep it on you, or nailed down, at all times.

Beer bottles and trash commonly litter the pool area, especially on weekends and the cleanliness of the pool leaves something to be desired. The pool commonly has dirt, leaves, and I've found more than one dead lizard in it. The last months I was in the apartment, the pool was closed for renovations. We were told the improvement would take only three weeks and would be done in February. Instead the pool was closed in May and June. There was no place to swim or cool off and there was no reduction in rent to compensate for the loss of the amenity.

The previous management was far more helpful and understanding than the current group. You can forget the current management being accommodating; or even pleasant. Repeated requests to get the new management to do something about the pool, noise, litter, leaks, filth, or bugs might get you an exterminator (if you complain to the city health dept.); but I never noticed much improvement. The current management seems to enjoy abusing the tenants. I've seen many students who had to leave the University for reasons beyond their control (family illness for example) told they would have to pay the complete monthly rental contract and an additional re-rental fee. Despite the legal requirement to try and fill the vacant apartment, I have seen them routinely direct new clients to other empty units (presumably because those units weren't generating income) that had no existing contracts. If you do find someone to take over the rent, there is an additional fee to transfer the contract. If you sub-let the apartment, there is another additional fee. The previous management only enforced rental payment for 60 days (the notice period), as stipulated in both old and new contracts.

My final recommendation: if your only choices for housing are University Commons or living under a bridge, give serious thought to the bridge.

User Responses
From: UCWatchman	Date: 08/27/2008
That was the best review I have read and it is right on.
From: hateUCommons	Date: 12/08/2008
Very honest and realistic depiction of what it's like to live at UC. I lived in bldg S, 1 row away from the Albertson's and I remember all the noise, squealing tires and drug dealer. Things got worse after the store closed. Life is much better one street over at Crossing Place!

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates