Citizen House Decker Apartments Review in East Austin: The Income Restricted Math Nobody Explains
Make between about $42,500 and $56,460 a year and there’s a 690 square foot one bedroom at Citizen House Decker renting at $1,181 base. If you earn $57,000, you can’t have it. Not because you’re short. Because you make too much.
That’s the part no listing site explains. I’m Ross Quade, a licensed Texas REALTOR (TX #679806), and I’ve toured more than 500 Austin communities across 14 years in this market. Citizen House Decker went up in 2025 on Decker Lane: 360 units across 10 buildings, mixed income. It’s out in 78724, one of the last stretches of Austin before you hit Manor. Roughly half the units are held for households earning 60% or 80% of the area median income. The rest rents at market.
So you get something you almost never see: a 913 square foot one bedroom at $1,363 in the same building as a 652 square foot one bedroom at $1,624.
Here’s what listing sites won’t tell you. That $1,181 base rent is real. Nobody actually pays it. Add the required monthly fees and you’re writing a check for $1,358. And the management company running this place today isn’t the one that earned most of the reviews you’re reading.
Quick Facts
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Address | 6107 Decker Ln, Austin, TX 78724 |
| Year Built | 2025 |
| Size | 360 units, 10 buildings, 3 stories each |
| Management | Greystar (took over from RPM Living) |
| Floor Plans | 1, 2, and 3 bedroom. 622 to 1,361 sq ft |
| Base Rent | Starts at $1,172 |
| Required Monthly Fees | About $177 on top of base rent |
| Income Restricted Units | 60% and 80% AMI versions of every floor plan |
| Housing Vouchers | Accepted if you meet the rest of the criteria |
| Current Special | Up to 10 weeks free plus a $1,000 gift card |
| Application Fee | $50 per leaseholder |
| Security Deposit | $500 to $1,000 based on screening, plus another $1,500 if you screen weak |
| Pets | 2 max, $200 fee, published breed restrictions |
| School District | Manor ISD |
| Walk Score | 11 (car dependent) |
| Ratings | Google 4.4 (48), ModernMsg 4.7 (64), RentCafe 4.5 (5), Apartments.com 3.8 (4), ApartmentRatings 5.0 (1) |
Five platforms, five different scores. Here’s the pattern: the closer a review site sits to the leasing office, the higher this property scores. ModernMsg surveys people by text right after they tour or sign, and plenty of those 64 came from people who hadn’t moved in yet. Google and Apartments.com, where residents go when something’s broken, sit at the bottom.
Who This Property Actually Works For
You earn roughly $21 to $27 an hour and want new construction. The 60% AMI one bedrooms have base rents of $1,172 and $1,181. At 3x income you need about $42,500 a year to qualify, and the ceiling for one person is $56,460. Full time at $22 an hour puts you inside that window. You’d be renting a 2025 building with quartz counters, a washer and dryer in the unit, and 9 foot ceilings. At a price you’d expect from a 1980s building.
You hold a Housing Choice Voucher. The property says so in writing, in English and Spanish: it takes voucher holders who meet the rest of the criteria. New construction that’ll commit to that is rare. Most voucher holders I work with get stonewalled at the phone screen. My Section 8 calculator shows what a voucher covers here. If screening is your obstacle, my guide to second chance apartments in Austin covers what flexible communities look at.
You need square footage more than a short commute. The A3.8 is 913 square feet at $1,363 base, or $1.49 a foot. The market rate A2 next door is 652 square feet at $1,624, or $2.49 a foot. Same building, same finishes. The restricted unit is 261 square feet bigger and $261 cheaper.
You work at Giga Texas. The plant is a straight shot south, about 12 minutes off peak. One of the few commutes from this address that doesn’t cross town.
Who Should Skip It
Your income sits just above the AMI cap. Earn $58,000 and want that $1,181 unit? The answer is no, and there’s no appeal. You’re left with market rate plans starting at $1,419.
You want to walk anywhere. Walk Score is 11 out of 100. JD’s Super Market is a third of a mile up Decker Lane and it’s a real grocery store. Past that, the nearest H-E-B is 4 miles. You need a car here every day.
You want a settled track record. Greystar took over from RPM Living recently enough that most Google reviews were written under different management. Six months isn’t long enough to know how that shakes out.
You’re counting on the free weeks to make the rent work long term. Ten weeks free is real money. It disappears at renewal, and the jump is steeper than people plan for.
Not Sure Which Side of the Income Line You Fall On?
The 60% and 80% AMI brackets have a floor and a ceiling, and nobody walks you through that math on a tour. I’ll tell you which units you can actually qualify for before you spend a dollar.
Location: What’s Actually Around You
Decker Lane is a two lane road on Austin’s far east edge. Right next door west is Loma Vista, a manufactured home community. Apartments.com and ForRent both label it a “shopping center” 0.2 miles away, a 3 minute walk. It isn’t a shopping center. It’s housing.
Why does that matter? Because the same complaint shows up on both properties. A Citizen House Decker resident posted that cars and trailers line the shoulder and some park on the grass. Loma Vista residents have complained to their own management about the same stretch of road. Management here replied publicly that they’d contact the city, which is about as honest as you’ll get: it’s real, and it’s not theirs to fix.
What’s genuinely close:
| Destination | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| JD’s Super Market #7 | 0.3 mi | Full grocery, open 6am to 11pm daily, 4.0 stars from 1,276 reviews |
| Mi Pueblo Meat Market | 0.3 mi | Butcher and grocery |
| Travis County Expo Center | 0.8 mi | Rodeo Austin, ROT Rally, Lonestar Round Up |
| Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park | 1.8 mi | $5 weekday / $10 weekend entry, boat ramp closed until 2027 |
| H-E-B, Ed Bluestein Blvd | ~4 mi | Nearest chain grocery |
Commute math:
| Destination | Distance | Off peak | Rush hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Giga Texas | ~7 mi | 12 min | 18 to 25 min |
| Downtown Austin | ~8 mi | 18 min | 30 to 40 min |
| Mueller | ~5 mi | 12 min | 18 to 25 min |
| UT Austin | 7 mi | 12 min | 25 to 35 min |
| ABIA | 13.8 mi | 24 min | 30 to 35 min |
| Austin Community College, Eastview | 6 mi | 10 min | 15 to 20 min |
Westbound in the morning is the painful direction. Everything else moves.
The thing about the Expo Center. It’s 0.8 miles up your street and Decker Lane is the access road. One visitor described 90 minutes in the turn lane during a concert, with fire trucks stuck behind him. A handful of weekends a year, not an everyday thing. But when one lands on the day you’re driving home, you’ll know it.
Transit is better than the Walk Score suggests. CapMetro’s Rapid 837 launched in February 2025 and runs from Loyola and Decker to Republic Square downtown every 20 to 30 minutes. Routes 233 and 237 handle local trips. Still not a place you live without a car, but it’s a real option.
Schools: This address zones to Manor ISD, not Austin ISD, even though 78724 contains both. Oak Meadows Elementary rates 3 out of 10 on GreatSchools, Decker Middle 2, Manor High 2. Two KIPP charter campuses within a mile rate 3 and 4.
Pricing and What It Actually Costs
What’s open right now in one bedrooms
Base rent is what the free weeks come off. All in adds the $177 you can’t opt out of.
| Plan | Sq Ft | Base Rent | Net Effective | All In | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1a.6 | 628 | $1,172 | $947 | $1,349 | 60% AMI |
| A1a.8 | 628 | $1,181 | $955 | $1,358 | 80% AMI |
| A2a.6 | 690 | $1,181 | $955 | $1,358 | 60% AMI |
| A1b.8 | 650 | $1,218 | $984 | $1,395 | 80% AMI |
| A2a.8 | 690 | $1,303 | $1,053 | $1,480 | 80% AMI |
| A2b.8 | 857 | $1,323 | $1,069 | $1,500 | 80% AMI |
| A3.8 | 913 | $1,363 | $1,102 | $1,540 | 80% AMI |
| A1 | 622 | $1,419 | $1,147 | $1,596 | Market |
| A1b | 650 | $1,504 | $1,216 | $1,681 | Market |
| A2b | 857 | $1,594 | $1,288 | $1,771 | Market |
| A2 | 652 | $1,624 | $1,313 | $1,801 | Market |
Two bedrooms start at $1,530 base, $1,707 all in. One three bedroom is open: 1,361 sq ft, $1,966 base, $2,143 all in.
Let me show you the actual math
Read the special carefully: 10 weeks free off base rent. The fees run the whole time. Let’s run the A3.8:
- Base rent: $1,363
- Special: 10 weeks free, which is 70 days
- Daily multiplier on a 12 month lease: (365 − 70) ÷ 365 = 0.80822
- $1,363 × 0.80822 = $1,102 per month
- Monthly savings: $261
Add the $1,000 gift card across 12 months and knock off another $83. Effective base rent for year one: $1,018 a month.
Try it on a 15 month lease. The multiplier improves to 0.84649, which gets you $1,154. Minus $67 for the gift card, that’s $1,087. The 12 month lease wins by $69 a month. Longer leases usually win. Not this one. The free weeks spread thinner. Run your own numbers with my net effective rent calculator.
Required monthly fees
Every resident pays these. None of them are in the base rent, and the free weeks don’t touch them.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Bulk internet | $65 |
| Doorstep trash | $25 |
| Renters liability insurance | About $14.50, varies by coverage |
| Community amenity fee | $15 |
| Pest control | $5 |
| Utility billing admin | $2.50 |
| Water and sewer | Usage based, roughly $50 |
| Running total | About $177 |
What you’d actually pay
Covered parking is $75 a month. Pets cost $200 up front, $24 to $28 for screening, and $20 a month each. So a single renter in the A3.8 with covered parking and one dog:
- Base rent: $1,363
- Required fees: $177
- Parking: $75
- Pet rent: $20
- True monthly cost: $1,635
The listing says $1,363. You’re writing checks for $1,635. That’s $272 a month, $3,264 a year, and none of it shows up in the search result.
Now the renewal cliff. Averaged across year one, your all in cost runs about $1,195 a month. Year two, free weeks gone, base rent flat, you’re at $1,540. A $345 jump without the property raising your rent a dollar. Budget for it now or you’ll be moving again in 12 months.
Want to See How This Stacks Up Against the Buildings Nearby?
Six other communities sit within a mile, a few running specials just as deep. I’ll pull the real net effective numbers side by side, fees included, so you’re comparing the same thing.
Screening: What It Takes to Get Approved
Citizen House Decker does not publish its credit minimum, income multiplier, or background criteria. Not on its website, not on Greystar’s site, not on any of the nine listing platforms I checked. Anyone quoting you exact numbers is guessing. One competing locator says applicants “generally” need 3x income, then claims there are no breed restrictions. That second part is flatly wrong. The published list bars Pit Bull Terrier, Rottweiler, Doberman, Chow, Akita, Alaskan Malamute, Staffordshire Terrier, Presa Canario, and wolf hybrids. Show up with a pit bull on that advice and you lose your application fee.
But you don’t have to guess. Under Texas Property Code 92.3515, a landlord has to hand you the written screening criteria when they hand you the application. Credit, income, rental history, criminal history, all of it. Reject you without giving you that notice and they owe your application fee back. Ask for the criteria sheet before you pay anything. Any decent leasing office will email it over.
In the meantime, here’s my read. A 2025 Greystar property in this class usually wants 600 to 650 credit, 3x gross income, and no open evictions. Older stuff gets looked at one at a time. I call and confirm before any client applies.
What you need to earn at 3x
| Plan | Base Rent | Annual Income Needed | Hourly at 40 hrs | AMI Cap, 1 Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1a.6 (60%) | $1,172 | $42,192 | $20.28 | $56,460 |
| A2a.6 (60%) | $1,181 | $42,516 | $20.44 | $56,460 |
| A1b.8 (80%) | $1,218 | $43,848 | $21.08 | $75,280 |
| A3.8 (80%) | $1,363 | $49,068 | $23.59 | $75,280 |
| A1 (market) | $1,419 | $51,084 | $24.56 | None |
Read the 60% AMI rows again. You need to clear about $42,200 and you can’t go over $56,460. That’s a window of roughly $14,000, or $20.28 to $27.14 an hour. A raise, a second job, or a co-applicant with a paycheck pushes you straight out. My 3x rent qualifier shows where you land.
One catch worth asking about. Greystar prices everything in “Total Monthly Leasing Price,” the base plus fees number. Run the 3x against that and the A1a.6 needs $48,564 a year. Your window shrinks from $14,000 to under $8,000. Ask which number they qualify on. That’s the difference between clearing and getting denied.
The 80% brackets breathe easier. On the A3.8 you’ve got about $26,000 of room between the floor and the ceiling.
What you can’t earn more than
| Household | 60% AMI | 80% AMI |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $56,460 | $75,280 |
| 2 people | $64,500 | $86,000 |
| 3 people | $72,600 | $96,800 |
| 4 people | $80,640 | $107,520 |
| 5 people | $87,120 | $116,160 |
These come off the property’s Essential Housing page and change when the City of Austin updates its AMI figures.
What you’ll need to hand over
Four weeks of paystubs, one month of bank statements, two years of tax returns, and paperwork on any other income including SSI, child support, or cash gifts. Heavier than a standard application. And the property says plainly that meeting the income limits doesn’t guarantee you pass screening.
Two separate gates. Income eligibility is one. Credit and rental history is the other. Clearing the first tells you nothing about the second.
The process
- Apply online, $50 per leaseholder, non refundable
- Screening and income checks, which take longer on the restricted units
- Decision, and they set your deposit based on how you screened
- Sign and move in
Here’s what separates working with me from applying blind. I can tell you whether your income, credit, and rental history clear this property’s screening before you spend $50 finding out. I’ll also tell you which AMI bracket you land in. If this one’s tight for your situation, I know which communities within 3 miles have more room. My service is free. The property pays me out of its marketing budget, and your rent is the same either way.
What the Reviews Actually Say
Roughly 125 reviews across five platforms. What repeats:
| Theme | Mentions | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Leasing staff praised by name | 20+ | Rising |
| Amenity quality: pool, pickleball, gym, dog run | 15+ | Steady |
| Apartment size and layout | 10+ | Steady |
| Move in problems: unit not ready, bugs, broken appliances | 4 | Persistent |
| Office not getting back to people | 5 | Mixed |
| Vehicle theft and parking incidents | 4 | Rising |
| Slow fixes on non emergency items | 3 | Rising |
The staff praise is the real thing. Averi shows up in at least six reviews across two platforms, several from out of state renters who said she walked them through options by phone. Kniyah appears in five Google reviews, all from the past month, which usually means a recent hire making an impression. One resident wrote a long RentCafe review about Bianca Diaz. He broke his toe, missed a month of work, and she gave him time to pull the money together. That tells you more about how this office handles a rough patch than fifty reviews saying “friendly staff.”
Operations run the other direction. A resident posted a week ago that a broken sprinkler had been flooding the lot and spraying cars for seven straight days. No management reply. Three months ago a resident reported two vehicles stolen, said management wouldn’t pull the footage, and said no notice went out. Nine months ago someone wrote up three separate ant infestations pest control couldn’t solve.
Two management eras, visible in the replies. Older responses run long and polished. “Over the moon.” “Rockstar team.” Recent ones are short and full of typos. One reply to the vehicle theft review opens with “We apolitical for this incident.” ApartmentRatings says management answered 100% of reviews in the past year. That was true. It isn’t anymore. About half the Google reviews from the past month have no reply, including the sprinkler one.
The verdict splits, and it splits cleanly. RentCafe breaks its 4.5 into categories: Parking 5.0, Amenities 5.0, Maintenance 5.0, Value 5.0, Noise 5.0, Staff 4.5, Location 4.0. Location is the lowest of seven. A June 2026 reviewer put it in nine words: it’s nice here, the only thing is the location.
That’s the whole property in one line.
The Uncomfortable Truth
No listing site will write this section.
The rent you see is not the rent you pay
Same unit, 05309, same day. RentCafe’s floor plan page says $1,172. Apartments.com says $1,285. RentCafe’s own unit page says $1,349. All three are technically true: base rent, base plus fixed fees, base plus everything including water. I checked that spread across all twelve one bedroom plans and it holds at $177 on eleven. Greystar publishes a disclosure explaining the difference. Nobody reads it. Budget off the wrong number and you’re short $177 a month before parking.
The special is advertised four different ways
The property’s feed to Apartments.com and RentCafe says 10 weeks free plus a $1,000 gift card. ApartmentHomeLiving says 10 weeks plus $2,500. Apartments.com’s auto FAQ says “2 Months Free.” A competing locator says 8 weeks plus $1,500. And a resident who moved in three months ago left a two star review disputing how her promotion got handled. Get the terms on the lease before you sign.
You have to requalify on income every single year
Everyone in a 60% or 80% AMI unit reverifies income every year. Get a raise past the cap and you’re facing a rent adjustment or a move at renewal. Nobody brings it up at the tour. It’s on the property’s website and it’s binding.
New management is a coin flip and you’re calling it
RPM Living handed this property to Greystar recently. Two residents describe the transition in opposite terms. One credits new management with smoother operations and resident events. Another says it hasn’t felt the same since the change. Both can be true during a handoff. What I’d tell a client: the leasing team is doing their job. Maintenance and communication is where the recent complaints pile up, and a week of a broken sprinkler with no reply is the kind of small thing that predicts bigger ones.
Roughly one in ten units is sitting empty
RentCafe shows 37 available out of 360, a 10% vacancy on a building leasing over a year. That’s why the deal runs this deep, and it works in your favor. East Austin is still soaking up new supply, which is producing the deepest move in specials I’ve seen in a decade. The property has room to keep discounting. Don’t let anyone rush you.
Ready to Apply, or Want to See What Else Is Out There?
If Citizen House Decker fits, I’ll pull the written criteria sheet and get the special in writing before you apply. If it doesn’t, there are six others within a mile and I know which ones bend on what. Either way it costs you nothing.
Common Questions
Is Citizen House Decker income restricted?
Partly. It’s a mixed income property with 60% and 80% AMI versions of every floor plan alongside market rate units. Roughly half the units carry an income cap. Plans ending in .6 are 60% AMI, plans ending in .8 are 80% AMI.
Does Citizen House Decker accept Section 8 vouchers?
Yes. They put it in writing, for voucher holders who meet all the other rental criteria. That’s unusual for new construction in Austin. Confirm it by phone before you apply.
What credit score do you need at Citizen House Decker?
The property doesn’t publish one anywhere. A 2025 Greystar property in this class typically wants 600 to 650. Texas law lets you demand the written criteria before you pay the application fee, so ask for it.
How much is the application fee and deposit?
$50 per leaseholder, non refundable. The standard deposit runs $500 to $1,000 depending on how you screen. Greystar’s fee schedule lists a separate additional deposit of $1,500 on top, so a weak file can land at $2,500.
What school district is Citizen House Decker in?
Manor ISD, not Austin ISD. Zoned to Oak Meadows Elementary, Decker Middle, and Manor High.
How far is Citizen House Decker from Tesla?
A straight shot south to Giga Texas, about 12 minutes off peak. Shortest major commute from this address.
Are pets allowed at Citizen House Decker?
Two per apartment. $200 per pet up front, $24 to $28 for screening, $20 a month. Restricted breeds include Pit Bull Terrier, Rottweiler, Doberman Pinscher, Staffordshire Terrier, Chow, Presa Canario, Akita, Alaskan Malamute, and wolf hybrids.
What happens to my rent after the free weeks end?
Averaged across year one, an A3.8 runs about $1,195 all in. Year two at the same base rent puts you at $1,540. A $345 jump with no increase from the property.
The Bottom Line
The building is good. Finished in 2025, quartz counters, washer and dryer in every unit, 9 foot ceilings, a pool, a pickleball court, a dog run, and a leasing team residents thank by name. That last part is rarer than the quartz.
The value is real too, if you land in the right income band. A 913 square foot one bedroom at $1.49 a foot doesn’t exist anywhere else in Austin new construction.
The trade off is location, and it’s not subtle. Walk Score 11. A car for every errand. Manor ISD ratings in the low single digits. A stretch of Decker Lane with real street parking problems and an event venue that chokes the road a few weekends a year.
It makes sense if you earn $21 to $27 an hour and want a new building instead of an old one. If you hold a voucher and are tired of getting screened out at the phone call. If you work at Giga Texas. If square footage matters more to you than walkability.
It doesn’t make sense if your income sits just above the AMI cap, since you’d pay market rate for a location that doesn’t justify it. If you want to walk to coffee or groceries. If you want a real track record instead of a management team six months in. If you can’t eat a $345 jump at renewal. Renters who need walkability at this price do better in North Austin’s Metric and Tech Ridge corridors.
My honest read: Citizen House Decker is the best square footage per dollar in Austin new construction for renters inside the AMI window, and a mediocre deal for anyone outside it. Qualify first, then decide. Doing it the other way costs you $50 and a week.
Need Help With This One?
Work with me. I’ll confirm the screening criteria, tell you which AMI bracket you fall into, and get the special in writing before you apply. My service is free. Communities pay a referral fee from their marketing budget, and your rent, application fee, and deposit are the same whether you use me or not.
Go it alone. The leasing office is (737) 530-9389, weekdays 9am to 6pm and Saturday 10am to 5pm. Just tell them “Ross Quade from Austin Apartment Team” referred you on your tour and application. Text me at 512-360-0852 when you apply so I can make sure everything’s on track.
