Tennessee
Related: About this forumSounds like some SERIOUS HOA overreach here....
The Belltown Homeowners' Association sent letters to some homeowners demanding that they cease and desist their use of KUB Fiber.
Affected residents received an email from the association on April 9, stating they must provide a written notice within five days of their intent to comply. However, homeowners said they did not get the letter in certified mail until April 14.
The letter states, failure to comply could result in the association "filing a lawsuit, seeking an order restraining you from violating the Declaration, and seeking an award of the Association's costs and attorney's fees incurred in connection with such suit."
Homeowner Chris Hill said he and several of his neighbors plan not to comply. He said the document he signed was not part of the original contract and was added at the last minute.
"When we went under contracts, we heard rumblings from the sales folks that there was some kind of big argument that Smithbilt had with KUB. Thought nothing of it, and then when we went to closing, suddenly they demanded that we sign an amendment to the contract at the very last second, or we wouldn't get the house, basically stating that we wouldn't use KUB," he said.
Hill said he doesn't believe the HOA can restrict their usage.
"That's problematic for a couple of different reasons, not the least of which is that the other fiber option, Frontier, is not even in the neighborhood yet, and we've all had issues with Xfinity. But the crux of our argument is that KUB was in here at some point. They laid the full infrastructure," Hill said.
https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/knoxville/homeowners-question-hoa-power-receiving-cease-and-desist-letter-kub-fiber-use/51-970c38aa-883e-4345-8324-a5ed5b52acb1
KUB is Knoxville Utilities Board, the city utility. Tell me how an HOA can restrict THEM! Not to mention freedom of choice here...
mercuryblues
(16,460 posts)As long as you choose who I tell you to choose.
Scrivener7
(59,754 posts)They contracted with a provider for the whole development at something like 1/3 the cost and the payment is part of their maintenance fee. But the provider can back out of the deal if there are less than a certain number of users in the development.
So that would affect everyone's cost in the development over time. But that would be pretty easy to explain to the guy who wants to use the other service and it doesn't seem like they have done that. So it may be that, or it may just be people being assholes.
GiqueCee
(4,404 posts)... subject myself to the abusive authority of an HOA; I've heard too many horror stories from those who have, and now fervently wish that they hadn't. It's an organizational mindset that attracts petty dictators like flies to the proverbial substance, and this story reinforces that belief.