Gyms in Killeen

Unless exempt, a Texas gym covered by the Health Spa Act posts $20,000 to $50,000 per location, rising with its prepaid memberships, as a surety bond or certificate of deposit. The Secretary of State's health spa search shows whether a gym is registered and has posted security, and a weekly PDF list shows the same for each location.

Before closing or relocating, a gym must post notice inside and outside each entrance at least 30 days ahead, except after a fire, flood or act of God. Members then have 90 days from the closure notice on the SOS website to mail their contract and proof of payment. Gyms that never require contracts or prepayment over 31 days, financing, bank drafts or initiation fees can be exempt, as can long-established gyms that meet the $50,000 asset, five-year ownership and no-closure-complaint tests.

A covered gym needs a Secretary of State registration at each location, $100 a year, with the certificate posted and the number in your contract. Unregistered sellers' contracts are void. Change your mind within three business days and a certified-mail cancellation with proof of payment, sent before midnight of the third, brings a full refund.

Contracts max out at three years, and financed payments at five. If the gym moves more than 10 miles, closes without a facility within 10 miles, or drops advertised services, you can cancel and recover unearned payments. A member who dies or becomes permanently disabled can cancel for a refund of unearned payments.

Texas gym contracts must state, in conspicuous 10-point type, your three-day cancellation right and your rights if the gym closes or moves more than 10 miles. If those notices are missing, ask why before you sign. If the gym is unusable for 30 days or more because of something beyond the owner's control, such as a natural disaster, it must extend your contract by the same time.

Gyms opening in Killeen

Presale money must sit in an FDIC-insured escrow until 30 days after opening, unless exempt, and members are generally owed a full refund if the gym doesn't open within 180 days of its first sale or doesn't stay open 30 days. Ask a new gym for its opening date in writing and whether it qualifies for an escrow exemption.

What the Health Spa Act leaves out

The Act covers most membership gyms but not tax-exempt nonprofits, member-owned private clubs, studios that only teach dance or aerobics, rehab providers or school programs. If a Killeen studio says it is exempt, these protections may not apply, so read its cancellation terms closely.

Forbes Health, citing Statista, put the average U.S. membership at $28.58 a month in 2021, ranging from about $10 to $300. Fixr puts basic memberships at $15 to $40 a month and gyms with advanced equipment at $50 to $100 (January 2025), so ask a Killeen gym to list its initiation and annual fees beside the monthly rate. For a dispute, the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division takes complaints at (800) 621-0508, and a Health Spa Act violation counts as a deceptive trade practice. See the Texas gyms hub, the Killeen hub, and gyms in Georgetown.