HOA HELL
HOA Hell with Michael Kushner is your inside guide to surviving—and winning—against California’s most abusive and overreaching HOAs. Leveraging almost 30 years of experience fighting for HOA members, Michael Kushner gives California homeowners real tools to fight back against abusive boards, outrageous rules, and everyday HOA nonsense. If your HOA is making your life a living Hell, then this podcast is for you.
Episodes
149 episodes
Do All California HOAs Have to Have an Inspector of Elections?
Some California HOA boards believe that if the association is small enough, the Davis-Stirling Act’s election rules do not apply to them. In this HOA Q&A, California’s most respected homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, sets the re...
The 5 Biggest Mistakes Homeowners Make When Fighting Their California HOAs
Most California HOA homeowners who lose valid disputes lose them not because the law was against them, but because of mistakes they made on their own. Attorney Michael Kushner, considered by many in the industry to be the #1 homeowner-side HOA ...
Can You Personally Sue HOA Board Members in California?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s most respected homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains when California homeowners can sue HOA board members individually and when the HOA itself is the proper defendant. 🎯 What You’ll...
Can a California HOA Convert Tennis Courts Into Pickleball Courts?
In this episode, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, takes on one of the hottest new HOA fights in California: HOA boards converting tennis courts into pickleball courts. This episode looks at when an HOA board ca...
Can You Sue Your California HOA for Emotional Distress?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains why emotional distress claims against California HOAs are extremely difficult to prosecute and what homeowners need to understand before pursuing s...
Can Your California HOA Convert Tennis Courts Into Pickleball Courts Without a Vote?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains whether California HOA boards can convert tennis courts into pickleball courts without obtaining approval from the membership. 🎯 What Y...
Home Insurance Non-Renewed After Fires: What Are Your Options?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, addresses what happens when your home insurance is not renewed due to wildfire risk and why more homeowners are being pushed into California’s FAIR Plan.&nb...
Can My HOA Make That Rule? California HOA Rule Limits Explained
In this episode of HOA HELL, California’s foremost expert and homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, breaks down one of the most important parts of HOA life in California: HOA rules and regulations. From parking restrictions and architec...
Can a California HOA Deny Solar Panels on a Condo Roof?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, addresses the question of whether an HOA can block a condominium owner from installing solar panels on the common area roof based on concerns like potential...
How Do I Sue My HOA in California? Step-by-Step Instructions
California homeowners dealing with abusive HOA board members, selective enforcement, architectural disputes, financial mismanagement, or ignored maintenance and repairs of the common areas often ask what it takes to sue their HOAs. In this epis...
Can a California HOA Borrow From Reserves Without a Membership Vote?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains the process that an HOA board must go through to borrow money from reserve funds. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A:✅ What...
Can a California HOA Stop You from Installing Solar Panels on Your Roof?
In this HOA Q&A, HOA attorney Michael Kushner, the pioneer in homeowner-side HOA law in California, explains why HOAs cannot block homeowners from installing solar panels on their roofs and what limits California law places on the restricti...
California HOA Attorney Fees: When Homeowners Can Recover Fees
In this episode, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains the concept of fee shifting statutes in California HOA litigation (i.e., when a party is awarded their attorneys’ fees when they win the lawsuit). He a...
Can Sitting Directors Also Serve as Delegates in a California HOA?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, addresses whether directors, candidates, or their spouses can serve as delegates and how delegate systems impact recall elections. 🎯 What You’ll...
My HOA says it uses “delegate voting.” What does that even mean?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains what “delegate voting” means within the context of California HOAs and how it differs from the traditional one-member, one-vote system that most HO...
Can California HOA Members Dissolve Their HOA?
Thinking about dissolving your HOA? In this episode, California’s foremost expert and homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains that while dissolving your HOA is certainly possible, the reality is far more complicated. ...
Can My HOA Force Me to Move Out for Termite Tenting in California?
In this HOA Q&A, pioneering homeowner-side HOA attorney Michael Kushner, a pioneer in homeowner-side HOA law in California, addresses a community-wide termite tenting project following years without inspections, and explains the legal issue...
Can a California HOA Hold Secret "Planning Meetings" Without Notice or Minutes?
In this HOA Q&A, HOA attorney Michael Kushner, widely regarded as California’s most experienced homeowner-side HOA lawyer, explains why an HOA board cannot avoid the Open Meeting Act by relabeling meetings as “planning sessions.” <...
Can a California HOA Stop You from Speaking at a Board Meeting Because Your Topic Isn’t on the Agenda?
In this HOA Q&A, pioneering homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains why a board cannot cut off a homeowner during open forum simply because the topic is not listed on the meeting agenda. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in Thi...
California FAIR Plan 2026 & Altadena / Palisades Fires: Why Many HOA Owners Are Underinsured
As the devastating fires that swept through Altadena, the Palisades, and Malibu in early 2025 showed us, California’s FAIR Plan is the only fire insurance coverage option available to many homeowners who live in high fire risk areas. And after ...
KFI’s Bill Handel Endorses HOA Attorney Michael Kushner
Is your HOA targeting you, imposing illegal fines, or abusing its power? Nationally syndicated radio host Bill Handel (KFI AM 640, “Handel on the Law”) has a direct message for California homeowners: YOU DON’T HAVE TO FIGHT ALONE. I...
AB 130 & California HOA Fines: What’s Happened Since the $100 Fine Law Took Effect
California capped HOA fines at $100 under AB 130. But what’s actually happening now that the law has been in effect for nine months? In this episode, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains what h...
Can an HOA Avoid Liability After Rerouting Plumbing Pipes Through Your Ceiling?
In this HOA Q&A, HOA attorney Michael Kushner, the pioneer in homeowner-side HOA law in California, addresses a situation where an HOA installs new repipe plumbing that now runs through a homeowner’s ceiling and then claims it will not be r...
California HOA Special Assessments: Why Your Dues Keep Rising and a Huge Bill May Be Coming
HOA assessments are rising across California, and for many homeowners the financial pressure is getting worse. In this episode, California’s foremost expert and homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains why regular dues are steadil...
Can an HOA Use Facial Recognition Cameras to Track Residents?
In this HOA Q&A, HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, the pioneer in homeowner-side HOA law in California, explains why an HOA’s use of facial recognition technology to identify and track residents and guests in common areas raises serious privac...