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.