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
164 episodes
How Much Can My California HOA Charge Me for Transfer Disclosure Documents?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s top homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, breaks down the fees California HOAs are permitted to charge sellers for HOA-related resale disclosure documents under the Davis-Stirling Act, including itemize...
Can My California HOA Stop Me From Raising My Fence to Keep Out Coyotes?
While many questions we receive about HOAs have clean answers, the ones that end up in court rarely do. In this episode, HOA attorney Michael Kushner, California’s most experienced homeowner-side HOA attorney, and co-host Sam Khil, take opposit...
Can My California HOA Ban My Kids From Playing in the Common Area?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s #1 homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains whether HOAs in California can ban kids from playing in the community’s common areas. One family got hit with a proposed rule that pushes their kids off...
Can My California HOA Make My Kid Wear a Helmet?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s most respected homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains whether a California HOA can require your child to wear a helmet on a bike or skateboard in the neighborhood. The answer hinges on a state l...
Can My California HOA Make Me Take Down My American Flag?
Can your HOA tell you when, where, or whether you can fly the American flag on your own property? One San Diego County HOA just passed a policy trying to do exactly that, and Michael Kushner, California’s most recognized homeowner-side HOA atto...
Can California Parents Be Charged When Their Kid Rides an E-Bike?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains when California parents can be criminally charged because of their kid’s e-bike. Parents are getting prosecuted across the state right now for inju...
Can My California HOA Ban Photos and Video at the Pool?
In this HOA Q&A, California's leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains whether a California HOA can restrict residents from taking photos and video at the community pool. Picture this: you're poolside with your kids an...
Why Can't Anyone Get a Loan to Buy in My California HOA?
You finally found a buyer for your condo. Great credit, healthy down payment, deal practically done, and then the loan falls apart, and it has nothing to do with your buyer. It has everything to do with how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac see your H...
California Condo Insurance: What Owners Face Under the FAIR Plan
In this HOA Q&A, HOA attorney Michael Kushner, the most well-known and respected homeowner-side HOA lawyer in California, addresses what condo owners can do when both their HOA’s master policy and their personal HO-6 coverage are non-renewe...
Can My California HOA Ban or Fine Me for My Kid's E-Bike or E-Scooter?
Your teenager wants an e-bike, or already has one, and you may have no idea that the law can put you on the hook, financially and even criminally, if they ride it illegally and someone gets hurt. One California parent is already facing felony c...
California HOA Delays After Major Fires: New Disaster Law Limits HOA Roadblocks to Rebuilding
In this HOA Q&A, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains how California’s new SB 625 protects homeowners from HOA delay tactics, subjective architectural objections, and rebuilding interference after decl...
Can My California HOA Make Me Pay for Balcony Repairs?
Your HOA just sent a letter demanding $50,000 per household for balcony repairs, with 90 days to pay. How did the bill get this big, is it even legal, and is there any way to make someone other than you foot it? In Part 2 of this series on Cali...
Fighting Your California HOA? Avoid These 5 Costly Mistakes
In this HOA Q&A, California's leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains the five biggest strategic mistakes California homeowners make when fighting their HOA, and why even a homeowner who is completely right can still ...
Did My California HOA Miss the Balcony Inspection Deadline?
Has your HOA told you the balcony inspection deadline is January 1, 2026? If so, your board may have already broken the law, and you could be the one left paying for it. In this episode, the first in a two-part series, attorney Michael Kushner,...
Can a Trust Appoint Who It Wants to Serve on a California HOA Board?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s top homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, breaks down a growing problem in California HOAs involving “trust-owned” homes, unrecorded deeds, HOA voting rights, and who legally qualifies to sit on an HOA ...
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...