On July 1, Mario Queroz came home to find a notice on the door of the one-bedroom apartment he shares with his wife in north Dallas. They’d lived at Three Fountains Apartments since 2017, enjoying the amenities offered by the former senior living complex before it became a multifamily apartment community in June. Now, the notice said, residents of the 198-unit complex would get high-speed internet, Wi-Fi, and cable in their homes, including more than 200 channels.
The only catch—they’d have to pay a mandatory $70-per-month fee added to rent starting on August 1.
Queroz, 52, contacted the property manager. He already paid $20 a month for internet from Spectrum and didn’t watch much TV. “Why would I pay $70 a month for internet and 200 channels I don’t even watch?” he said. “I’m on a fixed income. I can’t afford $70 a month. They said, ‘I don’t care, it’s mandatory.’”
