Joint Base San Antonio housing

Updated October 2026. Office details come from Joint Base San Antonio, the Army Support Activity at Fort Sam Houston and the Defense Travel Management Office. Confirm availability and rates with each community before you commit.

Joint Base San Antonio housing is really three housing markets in one city. JBSA-Lackland on the southwest side, JBSA-Fort Sam Houston near downtown and JBSA-Randolph in Universal City to the northeast are 20 to 30 miles apart, each with its own privatized family housing partner, its own Military Housing Office and its own set of nearby suburbs. Pick the wrong side of San Antonio and you can add an hour a day to your commute, so the first question is not "on base or off base" but "which base?"

JBSA housing at a glance

• Installations: JBSA-Lackland (basic military training, 37th Training Wing, cyber and ISR units), JBSA-Fort Sam Houston (Army Medical Center of Excellence, Brooke Army Medical Center, U.S. Army North) and JBSA-Randolph (Air Education and Training Command, pilot instructor training), plus Camp Bullis to the north. The 502d Air Base Wing runs the joint base.
• On-base family housing: Lackland Family Homes by Balfour Beatty Communities, Fort Sam Houston Family Housing by Hunt Military Communities and Randolph Family Housing by Hunt Military Communities.
• Rent on base: set to your with-dependents BAH, utilities included through a utility allowance, no security deposit for active-duty families.
• Off-base referrals: the Military Housing Office at each installation. The Fort Sam Houston office is at 3171 Zinn Road, Building 1161, phone 210-221-0881, Monday to Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

On-base family housing by installation

JBSA-Lackland: Lackland Family Homes

Lackland's family housing is owned and managed by Balfour Beatty Communities as Lackland Family Homes. The community is gated and sits inside the installation near the Base Exchange, Commissary and Lackland Elementary School. Homes range from two to five bedrooms; the Airman Scott Village plans we list are about 1,193 square feet with a garage, and that neighborhood is set aside for junior enlisted families (E-1 to E-6). Water, gas and electric are included, pets are allowed without a deposit, and the community provides lawn care, curbside trash and on-site maintenance. The leasing office is at 210-674-9366.

JBSA-Fort Sam Houston: Fort Sam Houston Family Housing

Fort Sam Houston's homes were privatized on March 1, 2005 under Privatized Army Housing, a 50-year partnership between the Army and Hunt Military Communities. Hunt's on-post office is at 2739 Dickman Road, Building 407, phone 830-262-0830, Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the Army's Privatized Army Housing oversight office upstairs in the same building at 210-273-5253. Neighborhoods include Watkins Terrace, with three- and four-bedroom single-story and two-story homes of 1,200 to 1,380 square feet, attached garages and washer and dryer hookups. Post-wide amenities include three community pools, 16 playgrounds, walking trails and a self-help store. When active-duty demand allows, Hunt also leases to retirees, veterans, DoD civilians and members of other services.

JBSA-Randolph: Randolph Family Housing

Randolph, the "Showplace of the Air Force," has the most distinctive homes at JBSA: Spanish Colonial Revival houses from the 1930s with stucco exteriors and original hardwood floors, renovated since 2007 and managed by Hunt Military Communities. Most Randolph Family Housing plans have four bedrooms and some have five, from roughly 1,400 to 2,775 square feet, inside a gated, walkable community with a pool, fitness center and community center. The leasing office is at 830-460-9130. Eligibility runs across enlisted and officer ranks, and homes can open to retirees, Guard and Reserve members and DoD civilians when active-duty demand is met.

At all three communities you apply through the privatized partner, not the Air Force or Army directly. Bring a copy of your orders and your dependents' information, ask for your waitlist position in writing, and read our base housing explainer so you know how rent, inspections and move-out charges work in a privatized community.

2026 BAH rates for San Antonio (JBSA)

All three installations fall in military housing area TX285, so your allowance is the same whether you report to Lackland, Fort Sam Houston or Randolph. The 2026 rates below took effect January 1, 2026. Verify your own grade with the DoD BAH lookup and read how BAH works if the allowance is new to you.

San Antonio rents vary more by neighborhood than by bedroom count. A three-bedroom house in Converse or far-west San Antonio can rent for several hundred dollars less than the same house in Alamo Heights or Stone Oak, which is why most junior enlisted families who live off base land in the suburbs along Loop 1604 rather than inside Loop 410.

Where to live off base, by installation

Off-base housing starts with the Military Housing Office, which keeps referral listings, reviews leases and handles landlord disputes. Then match the neighborhood to your gate:

• Near JBSA-Randolph: Universal City is minutes from the main gate along Pat Booker Road. Schertz, Cibolo and Selma to the north offer newer subdivisions in the highly rated Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, while Converse and Live Oak are the budget-friendly picks. All sit along I-35 and Loop 1604 for an easy commute.
• Near JBSA-Fort Sam Houston: Government Hill and Mahncke Park border the post, Alamo Heights and Terrell Hills are the upscale options about seven minutes away with their own school district, and the North East ISD neighborhoods off I-35 and Loop 410 give families more house for the money. Brooke Army Medical Center staff often favor the northeast side for the short drive.
• Near JBSA-Lackland: The southwest side of San Antonio along Potranco Road, Highway 151 and Loop 1604 has the newest construction, zoned to Northside ISD and Southwest ISD, with Helotes and Leon Valley to the northwest. Families of basic trainees usually need short-term lodging rather than a lease; the base's lodging office and nearby hotels handle graduation weeks.
• Camp Bullis and north side: Stone Oak, Boerne and the Highway 281 corridor suit personnel who report to Camp Bullis or split time between installations.

Our guide to finding off-base housing covers how to tour from a distance and spot a scam, and the SCRA guide explains the military clause every Texas lease should carry so you can terminate on orders. If you are bringing a pet, note that both Hunt communities cap new residents at two pets with a long list of restricted breeds; PCSing with pets has the details on paperwork and pet-friendly rentals.

Planning the move

San Antonio is a permanent-change-of-station hub, so the housing offices and privatized partners are busiest from May through August. Apply for on-base housing as soon as you have orders, keep your place on the waitlist even if you plan to look off base, and work through the PCS moving checklist so lodging, school registration and utility transfers happen in the right order. Use the move-in inspection checklist on day one whichever home you choose.

Orders to another Texas post? See our guides to Fort Hood (Cavazos) in Killeen and Fort Bliss in El Paso, browse all installations, or check the latest listings feed for new communities as we add them.

Joint Base San Antonio housing FAQ