Moontower

Do not rent at Moon Tower of Hell!!!!! My son and his roommate just moved in, and the condition of the place is unacceptable. Last week, they discovered mold on the couch. Management removed it, but never replaced it, leaving the room without one. Mold is a serious health hazard, and it is alarming that such furniture was even placed in a student rental. Today, the washer and dryer stopped working the very first time they tried to use them. When they reported the issue, the front desk said they were “too busy” to fix it and offered no alternative solution. The hallways are filthy and have clearly not been cleaned. I have called the office multiple times, but all mailboxes are full and no one answers. The manager and assistant are unresponsive, and the so-called “urgent” contact number is disconnected. The move-in process was chaotic, leaving parents scrambling for help on their own. This property is nothing like the pictures advertised. Instead, it is run-down, poorly managed, and unsafe—completely unacceptable for the high rent students are forced to pay. Do not rent here; avoid this place at all costs. I demand an immediate response to this review and contact number that I can reach out immediately for a resolution. I am extremely frustrated with the lack of support, communication, and accountability. Management seems to care only about collecting money from students while providing no real service or safe living environment. Even the phone system is AI-driven and leads nowhere.

Don’t rent here, there are better places across West Campus that you can find for better prices. I moved in my freshman year in August 2023 and stayed at Moontower for two years. There were some good benefits of living here (The yoga room, gym, and spin room was nice. The proximity of Moontower was convenient. The staff and managers were friendly. The living room and kitchen space for the 5x5 unit was large, and it was fairly quiet when we lived there.) We moved in when the apartment next to Moontower was being constructed, and my unit was facing the construction. New renters won’t face this issue, but we would be woken up in the middle of the night with workers outside of our window drilling, pouring concrete, etc. Because of the new building, our unit has no light coming through our window (you would be able to see straight through the windows to the other building). Our rent price went up significantly from the first year renewing to the second - and we were paying upwards of ~1550 with all the hidden fees included, with a 5x5 unit that literally faced a wall. Paying that high of rent wasn’t worth it to us, and there are better places with better rent prices on wampus to live. The unit and building has humidity issues. We bought a dehumidifier, so my unit didn’t have mold issues personally. In the last few months before my roommates and I moved out, there was an EXTREME bug issue. They were crawling through the air vents, in every cabinet, in the sink, etc. We submitted maintenance requests multiple times for pest control, and were still charged with bugs when moving out! There were several times each semester that the elevators wouldn’t work, and it would take a LONG time for them to come. Thankfully we didn’t live on a high level so I would take the stairs, but it’s still something to be conscious of.

I don’t know how else to start this review besides saying Moontower made my senior year at UT a living hell. I signed my lease at Moontower in September of my junior year. When I toured the model unit with one to the buildings student leasing agent, I was very clear about wanting the bedroom with a window and a private bathroom. I even physically pointed out which room I wanted. The agent reassured me that I’d get that exact room, and before signing, I even called the front desk to double check. They confirmed the lease was for the room I had requested (even though, strangely, the leases don’t actually specify which room you get — it just says “private”). Based on their repeated reassurance, I signed. Come move-in day in August, I was given a completely different room — no window and a shared bathroom. When I brought this up to the manager, Joseph, he told me there was nothing they could do. When I expressed confusion about how the rooms are classified — especially since there’s nothing on the lease or online that explains what “private” even means — Joseph told me that “private” actually meant a room with no window and a shared bathroom, as if I was just supposed to know that. Only after a long conversation with him and my parents present did he offer free parking and a $25 monthly rent reduction… for a mistake that never should’ve happened in the first place. Unfortunately, that was just the beginning. One morning, my roommates and I woke up to find our massive floor-to-ceiling window had shattered overnight. We were all asleep, none of us heard anything, and we immediately called the emergency maintenance line out of fear that something was structurally wrong with the building. Management — especially Joseph — brushed off our safety concerns and instead spent months accusing us (on different occasions) of breaking the window. He even suggested we “just confess” so the situation could be resolved faster. The window broke in October. It wasn’t replaced until JULY — and only after I contacted the city code inspector and the building received a violation . For nearly a year, instead of fixing it, they slapped up a flimsy piece of plywood held in place with two nails and electrical tape, while the window continued to crack more and more. We received no communication about when it would be fixed, whether it was being investigated, or whether we’d be charged. Now they’ve decided to bill each of us over $4,000 for damage we didn’t cause — with zero evidence and no explanation. And to top it off, when I came back to move out — after being away from the apartment for just over a month — I was welcomed with mold in my room and in our kitchen. This has easily been the most frustrating, disappointing, and honestly gross experience I’ve had in West Campus. Moontower management ignores serious concerns, fails to communicate, and takes advantage of the fact that students don’t always have the time or resources to push back. If you’re considering living here — don’t. They’ll gaslight you, blame you for issues that aren’t your fault, and expect you to stay quiet about it.