The Enclave Apartments Review: South Austin Studios from $670/Month in 78745

$670 a month for a studio in South Austin’s 78745. That’s the net effective rent at The Enclave right now with their one month free special on a 13-month lease. I track rental pricing across this submarket daily, and that number stands out. Austin’s average studio rent is around $1,300. The Enclave comes in at nearly half that.

Here’s what the listing sites won’t tell you. This is a 1982 building. The 2011 renovation added quartz counters and vinyl plank flooring, but that renovation happened 15 years ago. And when I went through 77 Google reviews, I found something the marketing photos don’t show: complaints about roaches, bed bugs, and black mold from people who actually lived there.

So is the price worth the trade-off? That’s what this review answers. Not the marketing version. The real version, with the math, the screening details, and the uncomfortable truths no listing site will write.

The Enclave at a Glance

On paper, that 4.0 Google rating looks decent. But dig into it and a fair number of those positive reviews come from prospects who toured the property, not people who actually lived there. And the 1-star reviews get specific: pest problems, broken amenities, and move-out charge disputes. I’ll break down those patterns in the reviews section below.

Best For / Skip If

Best For

You’re on a tight budget and need a South Austin address. Studios start at $670 net effective. That’s nearly half of Austin’s average studio rent. If your monthly housing budget caps out around $750, your options in 78745 shrink fast. The Enclave is one of the few that actually works at that number. And unlike some budget properties, you’re getting updated finishes (quartz counters, vinyl flooring) and a walkable location near H-E-B.

You’re attending or working near ACC South Austin. The ACC South Austin campus is about 0.8 miles west on Stassney. That’s a 15-minute walk or a 3-minute drive. A studio at $670/month within walking distance of campus is hard to beat in this market.

You have a larger dog. The 175-lb weight limit is unusual at this price point. Most budget apartments in Austin cap at 50 to 75 lbs or ban dogs outright. If you’ve got a Lab, Shepherd, or Husky, your options just got wider. You also get fenced yards and a dog walk trail. If you’re looking for more options, check out our verified list of Austin apartments that accept large dogs.

You want a small, quiet complex close to daily errands. Ninety units. Residents call it peaceful. H-E-B is walkable. Sprouts and Walmart are a short drive. Walk Score is 70.

Skip If

You need in-unit laundry. There are no washer/dryer connections in any unit. The property has a shared laundry facility on site, and the condition has been hit or miss based on what residents say. If in-unit laundry is a must, this property won’t work.

You’re sensitive to pest issues. Google reviews from the past year and a half bring up roaches, bed bugs, and black mold. Not vague gripes. Specific details. Recent reviews suggest conditions may be improving under current management, but the history is all there.

You expect modern construction quality. This is a 1982 building with a 2011 renovation. You’ll get updated surface finishes, but the walls, plumbing, and insulation are over 40 years old. Noise transfer, older pipes, and insulation gaps come with construction from that era.

You want consistent amenity upkeep. About a year ago, residents were posting about the pool being closed for months, mailboxes broken and unusable, and a laundry room in rough shape. Current management may have addressed these, but the track record has gaps.

Wondering if The Enclave Fits Your Situation?

Fill out a quick form and I’ll reach out to go over your specifics: income, credit, pets, timeline. I can check whether you’ll likely qualify before you apply, and I’ll share any current specials that might not be listed online. You’ll hear from a real person (me), not an automated system.

Location Deep Dive

What’s Actually Nearby

The Enclave sits on W. Stassney Lane in the Garrison Park neighborhood of South Austin. Here’s what’s actually within reach.

Walking distance (under 15 minutes): H-E-B is less than a mile away. ACC South Austin campus is roughly 0.8 miles west on Stassney. Walgreens, a handful of restaurants, and Stassney Heights shopping center are all within a 10-minute walk. Austin Oaks Hospital is 0.4 miles if that matters for work or medical access.

Short drive (under 5 minutes): Sprouts on S. Lamar, Walmart off I-35, Garrison Park, Captain Quack’s Bakery, Leroy and Lewis BBQ, and El Perrito ATX.

You’ll need a car for: The South Congress shopping and restaurant strip (roughly 2 to 3 miles north to the main SoCo stretch), downtown Austin, and major employment centers. Marketing for this property mentions SoCo proximity, and it is in the same corridor. But this isn’t the walkable SoCo strip. You’re south of Ben White Boulevard in a more residential stretch.

Bus access: Capital Metro Route 311 has a stop within a 5-minute walk. Route 10 is about 9 minutes on foot. Public transit exists here, but it’s not going to replace a car for most commutes.

The Commute Math

Airport access is a real advantage from this location. Hwy 71 access via Ben White keeps drive times short and predictable. Heading north is where things get painful during rush hour, especially to The Domain. MoPac toll lanes help, but you’ll pay $3 to $8 per trip.

Neighborhood Vibe

Garrison Park is residential. Quiet streets, mature trees, not much happening after dark. That’s either a selling point or a dealbreaker depending on what you want.

SoCo is a short drive north, but the immediate area reads more “established neighborhood” than “restaurant row.” Traffic on Stassney can back up during morning and evening rush near the Manchaca intersection. Parking at the property is surface lot, so you won’t deal with garage access headaches.

This isn’t a trendy address. It’s a practical one. Groceries are close, highway access is good, and the rent reflects the fact that you’re not paying a South Lamar or SoCo premium. For a broader look at what’s available in this part of town, see our South Austin apartments guide.

Pricing and the True Cost of Living at The Enclave

Here’s the actual math. Not the listing site version.

Floor Plans

*With 1 month free on 13-month lease (verified June 2026)

Selection is limited: two studio layouts and one bedroom. No two bedrooms, no townhomes. What you get for the square footage is reasonable for the price. And a 650 square foot 1BR isn’t spacious, but at $738 net effective, you’re not paying for space. You’re paying for a South Austin address at a price point that barely exists anymore.

Worth noting on the studios: E1 runs 420 square feet, E2 runs 432. Twelve square feet isn’t much, but the E2 starts $20 to $70 higher depending on the specific unit. If you’re touring, ask to see both. Maybe the layout justifies the bump. Maybe it doesn’t.

Net Effective Rent: The Math

I’ll use the 1BR A1 at $799 as the example.

Right now, the special is 1 month free on a 13-month lease. Here’s how the daily rate multiplier works:

13-month lease = 395 days. 1 month free = 30 days.

Multiplier: (395 – 30) ÷ 395 = 0.9241

$799 × 0.9241 = $738/month net effective

That’s $61/month in real savings spread across the full lease term.

For the E1 studio at $725: $725 × 0.9241 = $670/month net effective. Savings of $55/month.

One thing to know: this special requires a 13-month lease, not the standard 12. That extra month matters when you’re calculating your commitment. The property’s minimum lease is 6 months, but you won’t get the free month on a shorter term.

All the Fees

Required (everyone pays):

Optional / Conditional:

That $0 admin fee is worth calling out. Most Austin apartments charge $150 to $300 in admin fees. Money you don’t spend here. Normally the application fee runs $99, which is on the higher side for this price range, but the current special waives it.

Pet costs deserve a closer look here. $400 deposit plus $400 non-refundable equals $800 upfront before your first month of pet rent kicks in. On a $725 studio, that’s more than a full month’s rent just for the privilege of having a pet. Budget for it.

True Monthly Cost: What You’ll Actually Pay

Here’s a realistic scenario. 1BR renter with one dog and covered parking.

• Net effective rent: $738
• Pet rent: $25
• Covered parking: $50
• Estimated utilities (not included in rent): $120–$200

True monthly cost: $933–$1,013

Still around $1,000/month for a 1BR with a dog and covered parking in South Austin. Austin’s average 1BR runs $1,412. You’re saving $400/month compared to market average.

Move-in cost estimate:

• First month’s rent: $799
• Security deposit: $0 (zero deposit property)
• Pet deposit (one pet): $400
• Pet fee, not returned (one pet): $400
• Estimated total: $1,599 with a pet, $799 without

Zero deposit is a real advantage. Most Austin apartments charge $200 to $500 for a deposit on top of first month’s rent.

Specials change. What I’ve listed above was accurate as of June 2026. Check the property’s website for current posted specials, but I often have intel on offers that aren’t listed online.

Want to Know What Specials Are Actually Available Right Now?

Listing sites update on their own schedule. I talk to leasing teams directly. Fill out a quick form and I’ll check what’s current at The Enclave and similar properties in your price range.

Screening Criteria: Will You Get Approved?

This is where most listing sites go silent. They show you photos and a price, but won’t tell you whether you’ll actually get approved. Here’s what I know from the property data and from tracking screening at this class of property across Austin.

The Income Requirement

Income requirement here is 3x the monthly rent in gross household income. Here’s what that looks like at each price point:

At $12.55/hour for the cheapest studio, the income bar is low compared to most Austin properties. A full-time worker making $15/hour clears the requirement for every unit here. That matters if you’re working retail, food service, or entry level and trying to rent on your own.

3x is the standard multiplier across Austin. It’s not a differentiator. But at these rent levels, it means more people qualify than at properties charging $1,200+ where 3x pushes the threshold above $40,000/year.

Credit Expectations

No published credit score minimum here. That’s common for properties in this class. Here’s what I typically see at Class C properties in Austin based on tracking screening criteria across 1,000+ communities:

620+ credit: Smooth approval, standard deposit. You shouldn’t have issues.

580–619 credit: Likely approved, possibly with a higher deposit. Some properties in this class will ask for an extra month’s rent as a deposit at this range.

550–579 credit: Approval is possible but may require a conditional deposit or a qualified guarantor. Call the leasing office and ask before you apply.

Below 550 credit: Options narrow. You may need a third-party guarantee service. Whether The Enclave accepts guarantors isn’t published online. Call the leasing office before applying. If you’re dealing with credit and screening challenges together, our second chance apartments guide covers which communities work with difficult profiles.

This is my best assessment based on the property class and market patterns. The leasing office can give you a definitive answer for your situation.

What Typically Gets You Denied

I don’t have The Enclave’s published denial triggers, so here’s what’s standard for this property class in Austin. Use this as a starting point, then confirm with the leasing office:

• Active property debt (money owed to a previous landlord): almost always an automatic decline
• Evictions within the past 2-3 years: high likelihood of denial. The Enclave’s specific lookback isn’t published online.
• Felony convictions: typically reviewed individually at Class C properties with 3-7 year lookback periods. The Enclave’s policy isn’t published. Call before applying.
• Insufficient or unverifiable income documentation
• Outstanding balances on a previous rental history report

The Application Process

1. Apply: Submit your application through the property’s website or leasing office. The $99 fee is currently waived with the special.
2. Screening: The property runs credit, background, and rental history checks. Processing typically takes 24-72 hours.
3. Decision: You’ll get an approval, conditional approval (higher deposit or guarantor required), or denial.
4. Lease signing: If approved, you’ll sign your lease and pay move-in costs.

Get denied and that application fee is gone. That’s why pre-screening matters.

What a locator does here: I can review your situation before you apply and tell you whether this property’s class typically works with your profile. If your credit, income, or rental history raises flags, I can point you to properties with more flexibility instead of letting you burn an application fee finding out the hard way.

Resident Reviews Decoded

Listing sites show you a 4.0 Google rating and call it a day. That number is useless without context. I read through 77 Google reviews and 13 ApartmentRatings reviews to find the patterns. Individual complaints aren’t that useful. Repeated themes are.

Review Pattern Analysis

What Residents Praise

Staff here gets called out by name more than at most properties I review. Coco, the onsite manager, shows up in 5+ positive reviews. People call her helpful, responsive, and personally invested. Fabian Alarcon from maintenance shows up in 3 separate reviews, all praising his response time and professionalism. Mariah from leasing gets mentioned twice for being patient and thorough during tours.

That kind of name recognition matters. When people go out of their way to name someone in a review, that person is doing something right. It also tells you something about the size of the operation. At a 90-unit property, you’re dealing with a small team. That’s a good thing when the team is competent.

Quiet atmosphere and clean units on move-in come up a lot too. One reviewer called it “a peaceful apartment complex in a residential area” with “lots of beautiful trees in the courtyard.”

What Residents Criticize

Negative reviews cluster around a period roughly 12-18 months ago. Here are the most detailed complaints:

Pest issues: Three people wrote about roaches, bed bugs, and black mold in detail. One resident reported a bed bug problem that forced them to leave their apartment for a week and throw out their bedding. Another described a “major black mold issue” in the bathroom that went unresolved for 15 months. These aren’t vague complaints. They’re real problems with real details, and they trace back to a 1982 building’s infrastructure.

Amenity failures: One review with 5 “helpful” votes described the pool as “dark green” and closed “until further notice,” mailboxes broken and unusable “since last year,” and the laundry room as “disgusting.” Another resident confirmed the pool and mailbox issues.

Move-out charges: One resident who lived at the property for two years reported being charged $100 for a bathtub issue despite being told she wouldn’t owe anything when she left. She also reported that her deposit of nearly $500 had not been returned.

How Management Responds

Management responds to nearly every review, positive and negative. That’s better than many properties I track. The problem is the responses are heavily templated. Positive reviews get nearly identical replies (“we’re absolutely thrilled to receive your outstanding 5-star rating”). Negative reviews get generic apologies (“we sincerely apologize for any disappointment”).

Template responses aren’t inherently bad, but they signal something: the response is about optics, not resolution. I didn’t see any follow-up in the reviews showing that specific complaints actually got fixed.

One more thing. A long-term resident (June Wright) left a review explicitly questioning whether recent 5-star reviews are genuine, claiming “most of them are either friends, family or staff trying to bring the rating up from a 3.7.” I can’t verify that either way. But it’s part of the picture, and you should know about it.

The Uncomfortable Truth

No listing site will write this section. I’m not trying to kill the deal. I just want you to know exactly what you’re signing up for.

This Is a 1982 Building. The Renovation Doesn’t Change That.

In 2011, The Enclave got quartz counters, vinyl flooring, tile backsplash, and walk-in showers. Surface upgrades. They look good in photos. But the building’s bones are over 40 years old. The walls, plumbing, electrical, and insulation are all original.

Those pest complaints in the reviews aren’t coincidental. Roaches and bed bugs love older wood-frame buildings because there are gaps a cosmetic renovation can’t seal. Black mold forms in bathrooms with aging ventilation and plumbing. These are construction-era problems, not management failures. A good maintenance team (and Fabian gets praised for a reason) can manage them, but they can’t eliminate them.

The Management History Has Gaps

Long-term residents talk about a former manager named Stephanie like she was the gold standard. After she left, things went downhill. Unresponsive staff, broken amenities, declining conditions. One reviewer who lived there for 7 years left specifically because of the management change.

Coco, the current manager, keeps getting good marks from residents. But the property has been through multiple management companies: Roscoe Properties, RPM Living, and now CAF Management. Zumper reviews from the transition confirm “chaos and confusion,” including bugs from previous tenants and unfinished countertops at move-in. That kind of turnover means what you experience today could shift again.

Pet Fees Hit Harder at This Price Point

$400 deposit plus $400 non-refundable fee plus $25/month in pet rent. That’s $800 upfront before you even move in, then $25 added to your rent every month after that. On a studio where rent is $725, the pet deposit alone costs more than a full month’s rent.

At a $1,500/month apartment, those same fees represent about half a month’s rent. The dollar amount is the same, but the proportional hit to your budget is much larger here. If you’re choosing The Enclave because of the low rent, make sure you budget the pet costs separately.

Ready to Move Forward, or Want to Compare Alternatives?

You’ve seen the full picture: the pricing, the screening, and the trade-offs. If The Enclave works for you, great. If you want to compare it against similar options in the same price range, I can help with that too. Fill out the form and I’ll be in touch.

FAQ

Does The Enclave allow pets?

Yes. Up to 2 pets. Under CAF Management, there’s a 175-lb weight limit, breed restrictions, and $25/month pet rent. Some listing sites show no restrictions, but that’s stale data from the old RPM Living era. Apartments.com confirms restrictions apply. Call for the current breed list. Expect a $400 pet deposit and a $400 fee that isn’t returned.

What is the income requirement at The Enclave?

3x the monthly rent in gross household income. For the cheapest studio at $725, that means earning at least $2,175/month or about $12.55/hour full-time.

Does The Enclave have in-unit laundry?

No. None of the units have washer/dryer connections. There’s a shared laundry facility on site. Condition has been hit or miss.

What utilities are included at The Enclave?

Utilities are not included. Plan to set up and pay for electric, water, gas, and internet separately. Expect $120 to $200/month depending on usage and season.

What is parking like at The Enclave?

Open surface lot parking is included. Reserved spaces are $25/month. Covered parking is $50/month. Breezeway parking is also available. No garage.

What’s the current move-in special at The Enclave?

One month free on a 13-month lease, plus the $99 application fee is waived. Additional concessions on admin fees may apply. Verified June 2026. Specials change, so confirm with the leasing office before applying.

Is The Enclave a good location for commuting?

It depends on where you’re going. Downtown is about 5 miles north (12-15 minutes off-peak, 25-40 during rush hour). The airport is about 8 miles and stays consistent at 15-20 minutes. The Domain is 14 miles and can take over an hour during rush hour. Best for commuters heading downtown or south/east.

When was The Enclave built and renovated?

Built in 1982. Renovated in 2011. Renovation covered finishes (quartz counters, vinyl flooring, tile backsplash, walk-in showers) but didn’t touch the building’s underlying structure, plumbing, or insulation.

What are the biggest complaints about The Enclave?

Pest issues (roaches, bed bugs, mold), amenity downtime (pool closures, broken mailboxes), and disputes over charges when residents leave. Most of the negative reviews date to roughly 12-18 months ago. Recent reviews are more positive, praising current staff.

Who manages The Enclave?

CAF Management (also listed as CAF Capital Partners). The property was originally Ironstone Apartments before being renamed The Enclave in 2011. Previous management companies include Roscoe Properties and RPM Living.

The Bottom Line: Is The Enclave Worth It?

Math works. Studios from $670 net effective, 1BRs from $738 in South Austin’s 78745, with a 175-lb pet weight limit, fenced yards, and walkable access to H-E-B and ACC. That $0 admin fee is a real perk most Austin properties don’t give you. And residents keep praising the current staff, especially Coco and Fabian.

But the trade-off is real: you’re living in a 1982 building with a pest history in the reviews, a management history that includes some rough stretches, and no washer/dryer in your unit. That 2011 renovation is 15 years old now, and it was always cosmetic, not structural.

This property makes sense if:

• Your budget is under $800/month and you need to stay in South Austin
• You’re attending ACC South Austin and want to walk to campus
• You have a larger dog and can’t find pet friendly options at this price
• You prioritize low rent and walkable errands over modern finishes and amenities

This property doesn’t make sense if:

• Pest issues are a hard dealbreaker for you
• You need a washer and dryer in your apartment
• You want consistent amenity upkeep with a proven long-term management track record
• You’re comparing this to newer construction and expecting the same experience

First-year math works if you go in understanding exactly what this building is. The price is real. The trade-offs are real. Both things can be true. Reach out if you want help deciding.

Need Help Deciding?

You’ve got the full picture on The Enclave now. But if you want help:

Fill out the form above and I’ll text you to answer questions, check your screening situation, share current specials, and walk through next steps. You’ll talk to me directly, not an automated system. Here’s more about how I work.

Going solo? 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.