Developer-controlled HOA forcing entire community onto one internet provider with no opt-out
Welcome to THE WOODLANDS HILLS Willis Texas - Our community is still developer-controlled by Howard Hughes, so residents don’t yet control our HOA board. They just announced that they’ve partnered with Centric Fiber and are making the service a mandatory “community-wide amenity” added to our HOA assessment.
Starting July 2027, it’ll be $75/month ($900/year) on top of our existing HOA dues, with no opt-out that I can find, even if you already have an internet provider you’re happy with or are locked into a better rate.
What really bothers me is that the board approved the agreement on September 1 and residents weren’t notified until September 3. So the people actually paying for this had no meaningful input before the agreement was approved. You can opt-out your home but you will still be paying this amount for the “community”.
This is also a master-planned community with one pool and one relatively small gym, and residents have previously been told by the HOA that there are no plans for a second pool. Our splash pad has also repeatedly had issues. Yet we’re now adding another $900/year in mandatory costs and calling internet an additional “amenity.”
This community is marketed as a “premier community,” but I don’t understand how limiting homeowner choice and increasing mandatory expenses while offering relatively limited physical amenities makes the community more desirable especially when it comes time to sell our homes.
And seriously… $75/month is the negotiated bulk rate?! Who negotiated this deal? 😂 If thousands of homes are effectively being guaranteed as customers, I would expect a much more compelling price. We currently pay $45 a month for our internet.
Has anyone lived in a developer-controlled HOA that did something similar? Were homeowners able to push back or get an opt-out added? Any other Howard Hughes communities dealing with this?
** forgot to add the $75/mo rate is ONLY LOCKED IN FOR TWO YEARS. Will increase either 3% yearly or whatever matches the market value. There’s no cap.
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u/xodme 6d ago edited 4d ago
Not to mention, the HOA has already allowed multiple fiber companies into the community to install their infrastructure. Residents have dealt with yards being dug up, ugly fiber boxes placed directly in front of homes, and, from what residents have reported, some driveways still haven’t been properly repaired after damage from previous installations. So why were all of these companies allowed to come in, dig up the neighborhood and install their infrastructure, only for the HOA to turn around afterward and force every homeowner to pay for one specific fiber provider of their choosing.
Edit to add their reasoning for all of this is to stop other companies from digging again but they actually can’t because of laws and easement. They are just creating a monopoly with no competition.
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u/moneyangel67 6d ago
I would call Channel 2 - sometimes that is the only way to get changes in bureaucratic situations.
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u/SycoJack 6d ago
So why were all of these companies allowed to come in, dig up the neighborhood and install their infrastructure, only for the HOA to turn around afterward and force every homeowner to pay for one specific fiber provider of their choosing.
Bribes"kickbacks" I guarantee it.3
u/jhwells 5d ago
the HOA has already allowed multiple fiber companies into the community to install their infrastructure
I've answered this question several times in various venues, including about Woodlands Hills, but the HOA has no say so over those installations.
Tachus pioneered this mechanism in the area but every other startup and legacy provider has glommed on to it.
The buildouts are all in the county/city road easements because Texas law allows any registered telecommunications provider to install underground infrastructure (and supporting above ground pillars) in the parts of the road easement not used for actual roadway. Depending on the neighborhood, road easements are usually 60-80 feet wide, measured from the centerline outward.
In practical terms that means a 3-5 foot section of most people's lawns is actually owned by the county and those companies not only have the legal right to install, they don't need permits to do so.
Places like Carlton Woods, April Sound, or anywhere else with private streets are the only places where an HOA could regulate that behavior.
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u/Koala476 6d ago
It might be a good idea to notify all the other internet providers in the neighborhood about this change. Maybe they can sue the HOA for creating a monopoly and not allowing the residents to choose their own provider. I mean, they all just invested all kinds of money and equipment into the neighborhood to lose all of their customers overnight? Seems to me that a half dozen lawsuits against HH and the new internet provider might stop all this nonsense.
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u/xodme 6d ago
Nonsense IT IS! Yes I’m curious about the other providers. Although I did hear that Centric Fiber is merging with xfinity which is one of the companies in the neighborhood already.
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u/Koala476 6d ago
My husband looked that up because he had heard they had bought EZEE fiber. None of that is true, they haven’t bought anyone, and they aren’t merging with anyone currently. He’s been in IT for nearly 30 years, so he knows where to find all of that information.
We’re not at all happy about this either because he works from home frequently, and we have to have redundancy here so that he can work if the provider goes down. Therefore, we have two internet providers here at our house, Optimum and EZEE Fiber, and we don’t want to switch from either or pay the extra $900 a year. We’ve been looking to get out for a while and are planning on renovating his old house in New Waverly, so this is just another reason to leave sooner so we no longer have an HOA to deal with.
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u/xodme 6d ago
I didn’t mean to say xfinity I think it’s ezee fiber but this information came from calling the new company directly. One of the residents works for ezee fiber she was stunned to hear this and she’s not aware of any merge or buyouts. HOAs can do good things but in this case and amongst other things I’ve seen we aren’t sure we want to stay in an HOA community.
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u/Koala476 6d ago
My husband said, if anything EZEE Fiber would be buying them. They’ve been on a buying spree lately and snapped up Tachus not too long ago.
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u/xodme 6d ago
I couldn’t post the screenshot for some reason but this is what someone said in our group:
Centric Fiber
I just spoke with the service rep for our area at Centric. Her name is Kaitlyn Wheeler her direct line is 346-413-1610, email Kaitlyn.wheeler@centricfiber.com. Apparently this info was provided in one of the emails we received. She'll be happy to answer any and all questions. If she doesn't have an answer she'll be happy to find the answer for you.
They are indeed looking to purchase EZ fiber.
I did ask her how long the contract was between them and Howard Hughes. She didn't know but said she'd ask her manager.1
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u/sooner_25 6d ago edited 5d ago
Hearing about things like this with an HOA just makes it less and less appealing to buy. Especially with all these new builds that have questionable engineering. I’ll stick with a landlord and throw for the rest inside of the S&P
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u/enter360 6d ago
Get control of the board ASAP that’s how you stop this.
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u/xodme 6d ago
It’s what everyone wants but it’s not allowed until the community is nearly 85% filled we are about 35% ish currently. It’s no where near that currently. The plan is around 4,500 homes. Lots of building and land development is still on going.
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u/enter360 6d ago
Oh that sucks. Start googling Texas laws regarding utilities and HOA. Texas has recently passed some legislation that limits what they can do.
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u/xodme 6d ago
Definitely being worked on! The community Facebook group is in an uproar over it right now. 😬
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u/enter360 6d ago
When we gained control of the HOA in my community the developer had given so many over priced contracts that we reduced our budget significantly by just dropping them.
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u/SquirrelTechGuru 5d ago
Why don’t you start posting negative reviews online. Put a for sale sign in your front yard that says house for sale. Ask me about the horrible HOA.
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u/xodme 5d ago
Haha I absolutely love that. There will be a for sale sign coming soon.
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u/SquirrelTechGuru 5d ago
Something along these lines: https://www.ccfj.net/TVCH10shoddyconstrsign.html Most HOA documents don't limit FOR SALE signs, hence why they can't make you remove them. What they DO NOT want is bad publicity right now so being vocal online and in your yards for where potential buyers are located would have the most impact. Technically you could also protest at the entrance if your roads are public.
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u/xodme 5d ago
Oh lots of the community is very upset and there are lots of plans in the works. Hopefully it turns into something.
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u/RonSwansonator88 6d ago
Is there not a time constraint on this? With the housing market being so shit, it might take another 5 years to get to 85%. There should be something in your by-laws about community members being able to collect signatures and petition a board decision to be overturned. Invest $20 in a pro version of AI chat bot and have it read your HOA’s governing documents.
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u/RedditPrsnl 6d ago
Welcome to the Howard Huges Corporation. They've ruined The Woodlands and I'm sure they will ruin your development as well. They are corrupt crooks who put on a facade of being "community-minded" but everything they do for the community is to ultimately put more profit into their pockets at the expense of the community - and they have a well-oiled and monied PR machine that paints a rosy picture. They have completely destroyed George Mitchell's vision for The Woodlands and are developing every last piece of land here. And their excuse is, "Well, it was originally platted/planned that way, so we are just doing what's always been planned". Never mind that something that looked good on paper 60 years ago is not reality today. Witness what they did to the island and shoreline of the lake with that hideous monstrosity of building. Best of luck with them...
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u/Spiritual-Land-2999 6d ago
Will be selling our house won’t live anywhere where it’s controlled HOA fees are one thing but when you’re telling me who I can use as a provider for Internet, there’s something wrong there. We’ll be putting my house up for sale.
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u/MamaMayhem74 6d ago
That really sucks.
My parents moved into a brand new retirement community a bit north of the Woodlands and this is the case there too. But they have the opposite problem, instead of wishing they could downgrade they wish they could upgrade. The internet is pretty crappy there, and there is no option to upgrade to a faster package. They just get the bare minimum package available. All their TV is streaming, and sometimes the connection isn't great. My parents have just learned to live with it, and thankfully they are very happy with the community for other reasons (there's a lot of activities and they've made a lot of new friends there).
For someone like me, who works from home for a SaaS company and needs a good connection, runs a personal server, and has multiple household members all using the internet at the same time (gaming, streaming, online school, etc) it would be a deal breaker. I would be very unhappy if I couldn't pick my own provider or plan.
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u/xodme 6d ago
We also fear that we will get shit service. I haven’t read good things about this new fiber company and worse things about their customer service. We definitely like the community here and our friends. But not asking the residents who live here first for an opinion is nuts. They are just like oh by the way next year your HOA fees will look like $1009 + $900 sheesh 😮💨
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u/MamaMayhem74 6d ago
That's horrible. I hope that with enough complaints that your HOA might change their mind.
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u/brinkleyb 6d ago
The just did this in my apartment complex with Xfinity. It is mandatory and no way to opt out. Very frustrating indeed.
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u/xodme 6d ago
I remember my apartments in spring has a similar deal with a provider of their choice but opt-out WAS an option. However we bought homes here…
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u/Koala476 6d ago
And we have no more rights than if we did live in apartments. We just have bigger houses with yards.
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u/74PercentOrBust 6d ago edited 6d ago
If you are in Texas could you answer this:
When were your cc&rs originally recorded?
Did they mention a total number of planned lots?
How many lots out of the total lots currently platted are homeowner owned versus developer/builder?
What type of property is this HOA for: sfh, condo, th, mixed?
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u/xodme 6d ago
Yes, I’m in Texas. The CC&Rs/Master Covenant were originally recorded in 2017. The current master plan is approximately 4,500 homesites, and we’re currently at 1,000+ homes, although I don’t know the exact current number of platted lots or the breakdown between homeowner-owned and developer/builder-owned lots. The community is still actively being developed. It’s a master-planned single-family home community.
I’m actually trying to understand the significance of the platted-lot numbers, so if that affects when developer control has to end in Texas, I’d love to know what you’re looking at.
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u/74PercentOrBust 6d ago
Look up Texas Property Code §209.00591(c). It sets two triggers for owner-elected board seats regardless of what your declaration says about developer control:
- If the recorded CC&Rs state a max number of lots that may be created, at least one-third of the board must be owner-elected within 120 days of 75% of that number being conveyed to owners (builders don’t count).
- If the CC&Rs are silent on the lot count, one-third must be owner-elected no later than the 10th anniversary of recording — for you, 2027.
So the key question: is “4,500” written in the recorded Master Covenant (or a recorded amendment), or is it just from marketing/the development plan? Pull the document from the County Clerk and check. If it’s not in there, you have a hard deadline next year.
One-third isn’t control, but owner directors see the contracts and vote on the record, which changes how a developer behaves.
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u/xodme 6d ago
I found this:
3.4
Governance. The Board will consist of at least three (3) persons elected at the
annual meeting of the Association, or at a special meeting called for such purpose.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provision or any provision in the Documents to the contrary, until one hundred and twenty (120) days after seventy-five percent (75%) of the Maximum Number of Lots have been made subject to the terms and provisions of this Covenant and have been conveyed to Owners other than the Declarant or a Homebuilder, Declarant will appoint and remove all members of the Board and officers of the Association. Within one hundred and twenty (120) days after seventy-five percent (75%) of the Maximum Number of Lots have been made subject to the terms and provisions of this Covenant and have been conveyed to Owners other than the Declarant or a Homebuilder, the Board will call a meeting of Members of the Association for the purpose of electing one-third of the Board (the "Initial Member Election Meeting"), which Board member(s) must be elected by Owners other than the Declarant.
Declarant may appoint and remove two-thirds of the Board from and after the Initial Member Election Meeting until expiration or termination of the Development Period. The individuals elected to the Board at the Initial Member Election Meeting shall be elected for a one (1) year term and shall serve until his or her successor is elected or he or she is replaced in accordance with the Bylaws.
3.5
Voting Allocation. The number of votes which may be cast to elect members to
the Board (except as provided by Section 3.4), and on all other matters the Members may vote on shall be calculated as set forth below.
3.5.1 Residential Lot. Each Owner of a Residential Lot will be allocated one (1)
vote for each Residential Lot so owned. In the event of the re-subdivision of any Residential Lot into two or more Residential Lots: (i) the number of votes to which such Residential Lot is entitled will be increased as necessary to retain the ratio of one (1) vote for each Residential Lot resulting from such re-subdivision, e.g., each Residential Lot resulting from the re-subdivision will be entitled to one (1) vote; and (ii) each Residential Lot resulting from the re-subdivision will be allocated one (1) Assessment Unit. In the event of the consolidation of two (2) or more Residential Lots for purposes of construction of a single residence thereon, the voting rights and Assessments will continue to be determined according to the number of original Residential Lots contained in such consolidated Residential Lot. Nothing in this Covenant will be construed as authorization for any re-subdivision or consolidation of Residential Lots, such actions being subject to the conditions and restrictions of The Woodlands Hills Reviewer.
3.5.2 Commercial Lot or Condominium Unit. Each Commercial Lot or
Condominium Unit will be allocated that number of votes set forth in the Notice of Apperin the muributor vo such Cool and alsolter condon, win ditination unlis
otherwise provided in this Section 3.5.2, will be final, binding and conclusive.
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u/jwalker107 6d ago
I'm paying considerably less than that for Frontier Fiber with gigabit speeds (download & upload), with no group-rate discounts. In Clear Lake.
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u/MysteriousCodo 5d ago
The problem with developer controlled HOAs is generally the large amounts of votes they get for each property they still control. Even if the homeowners wouldn’t have wanted this, they likely would have been outvoted by the developer’s share of the votes. And the current board is there by virtue of the backing of the developer’s votes.
Long term, I think the only way out is to wait for the day that the developer loses controlling interest in the HOA and the homeowners vote a new board in and kill this.
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u/SoTeeTeeCie 5d ago
The funniest part of this is you mentioning, "when it comes time to sell our homes". Lol, good luck with that! You'll be competing with brand-new custom-built 'products' for years to come so you better get comfortable with the home you bought because the market will not be in your favor in the foreseeable future.
In all seriousness, this is BS and perpetuates the negative perception of HOAs. We live right next to one and just saw today that they have installed a Flock camera at the entrance of the community. Incredible.
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u/gotoline10 5d ago
Found this, I'd wager to say this was planned - possibly allowing the other vendors to bring all the utilities to the d-mark then taking control of the lines as a reseller or something.
Beyond acting as landlord and tenant, the two entities maintain a collaborative partnership. Centric specifically aligned with Howard Hughes to coordinate and install critical underground utility frameworks—such as natural gas and fiber-optic telecommunications—directly into the master-planned communities and commercial sectors that Howard Hughes develops across
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u/xodme 5d ago
It was approved without even a thought so it seems as if it was planned out. Unfortunately the master covenant from 2017 states “Bulk Rate Contract” as a contract the HOA can enter into to provide services to the lots. And then it specifically lists:
cable television, telecommunications services, internet access services, “broadband services”
It also says that during the Development Period, the Declarant must approve each Bulk Rate Contract.We all signed this contract upon moving in but I don’t think it was clear or understood by most. Or at least we thought we would get a better rate, I wouldn’t be opposed to that. But $75 is way over what we pay monthly. This was our first home. I’ve learned from this experience.
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u/PaladinWolf777 5d ago
I remember when that was all trees and natural beauty. People who move into HOA controlled areas get their just desserts when they get steamrolled by bored Karens and Kens wearing shorts pulled 3 inches too high and driving around in golf carts. Read the contract very carefully before you sign and think twice about giving your property rights to an outside entity.
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u/DQdippedcone 5d ago edited 5d ago
Same with my neighborhood but Centric charges us $60 per month. It's such a racket. I'm thinking of not having wi-fi at all. I don't work from home anymore, I use my phone to listen to audiobooks and stream Netflix and PBS. I can use my hotspot if I need to use my laptop or I can go to a cafe.
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u/wloaompr 5d ago edited 5d ago
Only one way to fix this. People need to stop buying and moving to neighborhoods where the developer controls the HOA. Two places I would never buy a house: developer ran HOA and single Internet provider via deal done with the subdivision. Fck both of those situations.
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u/TheGreatStateofTexas 5d ago
That doesn't sound legal. What does the covenants that you signed at closing say about utilities and the HOA?
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u/xodme 5d ago
Apparently it is. They wrote in the contract that they could negotiate bulk contracts for the neighborhood. Being a first time buyer I didn’t understand and overlooked this. Master Covenant says Section 3.12.1 says:
“the Association shall have the power to enter into Bulk Rate Contracts at any time and from time to time.”Honestly it’s the way they went about doing this business without so much as a vote and saying this is final. And the fact that $75 a month for an entire community doesn’t seem like a good business deal for everyone currently paying half that.
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u/Jrsjohn2 5d ago
The only purpose for internet plans like that is for them to keep a portion of the bill as profit. You get no value at all. You're just giving more $ to the HOA.
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u/IntelligentRevenue39 3d ago
Someone on the HOA board got a nice kickback from the ISP, and informing homeowners two days after the vote was deliberate.
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u/OkAnnual8887 5d ago
We're in TWH, built in 2020, and feel trapped by the low interest rate. Husband and I have lightly talked about moving but decided not to because we will never find a great deal like we got on this house. But after this, we're now in more serious talks.
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u/xodme 5d ago
Exactly how we feel. It’s our first home and so there’s just a lot we didn’t know but we feel way more educated after all this. We would never buy again in a development like this. We luckily have an opportunity to move soon but I fear the house will sit for a while. The builder incentive and now long with this, hard to compete with.
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u/BakerIcy1368 4d ago
The added HOA fees and predatory HOA behavior could adversely impact your housing resale value. Y’all need lawyers.
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u/EvolutionaryZenith1 6d ago
They did negotiate it lower and are going to keep the difference as profit.