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
174 episodes
Can My California HOA Refuse to Give Me the SB 326 Balcony Inspection Report?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains the amendment to Civil Code § 5200, which took effect on January 1, 2026. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅...
Can My California HOA Make Me Pay for the Previous Owner’s Violations?
Weeks after you close on your new home, a letter shows up demanding you pay a fine, cover an unpaid assessment, or fix something the previous owner did. In this episode, attorney Michael Kushner, California’s most experienced homeowner-side HOA...
Can My California HOA Stop Me From Criticizing or Organizing Against It?
Your HOA says you can’t trash the board online, and it wants a deposit and an insurance policy before you can even meet in the clubhouse to talk about a recall. Both demands are illegal, and a $1,000-an-hour attorney recently told homeowners th...
What Qualifies as a Health and Safety Violation Under California’s $100 HOA Fine Cap?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s #1 homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains what qualifies as a health and safety violation under California’s $100 HOA fine cap. Bad HOAs figured out fast that AB 130’s cap has one exception, and...
Does my Condo Insurance Cover my California HOA’s Special Assessment?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s most respected homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains loss assessment coverage and how it pays a condo owner’s share of a California HOA special assessment. Such coverage could only be found in ...
Can My California HOA Spray Pesticides Near My Home?
A rare childhood cancer cluster in Ladera Ranch has parents pointing at the pesticides their HOA sprays across the common areas. In this episode, HOA attorney Michael Kushner, California’s most experienced homeowner-side HOA attorney, uses that...
Who Do I Report My California HOA To? (Nobody. Here’s Why.)
Many homeowners think that there’s a state agency that they can report their HOAs to when their HOAs break the law. There isn’t. In this episode, HOA attorney Michael Kushner, California’s most respected homeowner-side HOA attorney, explains wh...
Is There a State Agency That Regulates HOAs in California?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains whether any state agency regulates California HOAs and where homeowners can turn when their HOA breaks the law. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in ...
Can My California HOA Ban E-Bikes and E-Scooters?
In this HOA Q&A, California’s pioneering homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains how far California HOAs can go when they move to regulate e-bikes and e-scooters. Suppose your teenager depends on an e-bike or e-scooter to get...
Can My California HOA Track My License Plate With Flock Cameras?
Your HOA installed Flock cameras (or some other form of ALPR camera) in your HOA that photograph every car going in and out, log the plate, the date, and the time, and feed it all into a searchable database. Most homeowners assume it’s ha...
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 ...