Katy homeowner challenges $1,000 Sunterra HOA leasing fee

A Katy homeowner challenged Sunterra’s new $1,000 annual leasing fee, questioning whether the homeowners association could add the charge after he bought the property. One summary of the policy said the fee applies to each lease, renewal or extension and must be paid when the lease is registered.

The dispute reaches beyond one household budget. The policy also added new leasing requirements, a change that can affect owners who rely on rental income or need the flexibility to lease a home in western Harris County. A recurring $1,000 charge can decide whether an owner keeps a property on the rental market or pulls it back for personal use.

Sunterra Property Owners Association, Inc. is in Katy, Harris County, and its governing records show recent updates. A Sunterra Amended & Restated Master Covenant was recorded Jan. 4, 2023, and an Amended & Restated Design Guidelines document was recorded Feb. 28, 2023. Those filings matter because HOA authority usually turns on what the declaration, covenants and related documents actually allow.

Texas Property Code Section 209.016 governs the regulation of residential leases or rental agreements, and Texas legislative materials show the section was amended in 2021. Background materials on HOA covenants also indicate that amendments to certain dedicatory instruments generally require approval from 67% of the votes allocated to the association unless the declaration sets another threshold. That makes the central question in Sunterra a narrow but important one: whether the leasing fee fits within the association’s existing authority or amounts to a change that needed broader owner approval.

The answer carries practical consequences for residents, landlords and buyers in one of the Houston area's fastest-growing suburban communities. If the fee stands, every new lease, renewal or extension could carry a fresh cost, and that can reshape how many homes in Sunterra remain available to renters. It also puts a spotlight on how master-planned communities in Katy use private rules to control access to housing and how much warning owners get before those rules change.