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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.
89 Episodes
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In this episode of HOA HELL, attorney Michael Kushner explains how rulemaking works in California HOAs and when HOA boards must go to the membership for a vote. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ How rulemaking authority must be in the CC&Rs or Bylaws and why rules cannot conflict with higher documents. ✅ How a rule is legally adopted, including the notice-related timelines. ✅ How certain HOA board actions require a membership vote (e.g., increasing special assessments beyond a ...
In this special episode, attorney Michael Kushner reveals the inside story behind his groundbreaking new book: “HOA HELL | California Homeowners’ Definitive Guide to Beating Bad HOAs." In this episode, you’ll learn why HOA HELL is California’s ONLY definitive, practical, step-by-step guide for California HOA members. You’ll learn about his systems of “strategic persistence” and leverage “stacking,", and how those systems can you help you achieve real change in your HOA. This epis...
Your HOA says your guests can’t use the pool or that you’re hosting too many visitors. Can they do that? In this HOA Q&A, attorney Michael Kushner explains when guest-related rules are enforceable and when your HOA may be crossing the line. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ Why your HOA can’t restrict who you invite into your home. ✅ When guest use of common areas can be limited by rules. Michael explains the difference between valid guest restrictions and overreach, and wh...
In this episode of HOA HELL, attorney Michael Kushner explains how California HOA elections are supposed to work and what to do when boards cut corners or game the process. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ How secret balloting actually works. ✅ The core duties of the designated inspector of elections and who can serve as a truly independent inspector. ✅ Member voting rights. ✅ Whether to file a lawsuit in small claims court or the superior court. This episode fills you in on the t...
Your HOA is breaking the rules, but can you report them to a state agency in California? In this HOA Q&A, attorney Michael Kushner explains why there’s no state oversight body for HOAs, and what legal options homeowners actually have when the board violates the law. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ That the Department of Real Estate and Attorney General don’t handle HOA complaints. ✅ What enforcement tools homeowners do have. ✅ How civil legal tools are the only real path ...
In this episode of HOA HELL, attorney Michael Kushner breaks down when California HOA board misconduct actually crosses the line from civil wrongdoing into criminal behavior. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ The difference between civil HOA violations and conduct that can lead to criminal charges. ✅ Real examples of board misconduct that qualify as crimes, including embezzlement, theft by false pretenses, filing false documents, forgery, perjury, and criminal elder abuse. ✅ Why so...
Your HOA says you left your trash cans out too long and hits you with a fine. Is that legal? In this HOA Q&A, attorney Michael Kushner explains when trash can rules are enforceable and where boards often go too far. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ That HOAs are allowed to adopt rules about trash can timing. ✅ Rules must meet the requirements of Civil Code § 4350. ✅ Why next-morning deadlines are likely valid, but 7:00 p.m. deadlines may not be. Michael breaks down h...
In this episode of HOA HELL, attorney Michael Kushner explains how California law defines emotional distress and why the term means something very different inside a courtroom than it does in everyday life. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ The difference between ordinary emotional stress and the legal standards for emotional distress damages. ✅ The elements of Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED) and Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress (NIED) under California...
In this episode of HOA Hell, attorney Michael Kushner tackles real-life mental health scenarios in California HOAs and explains how disability protections intersect with nuisance rules. You’ll hear how FHA and FEHA apply, where boards cross the line with harassment, public shaming, or refusing reasonable accommodations, and what practical accommodations and processes actually look like. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ How mental health conditions are treated as disabilities under...
In this episode of HOA Hell, attorney Michael Kushner explains what California HOAs are actually required to do, and not required to do, about crime and safety within their communities. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ HOAs are not private police and are not guarantors of anyone’s safety. ✅ HOA boards have a duty to exercise reasonable care regarding the common areas under their control by, for example, repairing safety features (e.g., lighting, gates, locks, cameras, or access s...
In this episode of HOA Hell, attorney Michael Kushner breaks down what “fiduciary duty” actually means for California HOA boards and why it matters to your rights, your money, and your quality of life. You’ll hear plain-English examples of the two duties that make up the fiduciary duty in the HOA setting (i.e., the duty of care and the duty of loyalty), and you’ll learn how transparency defeats self-dealing, what confidentiality really requires, and the specific steps homeowners can take when...
In this consultation-centered, “grab-bag” episode of HOA Hell, attorney Michael Kushner walks through real homeowner consultations to show what works, what doesn’t, and how to avoid costly mistakes when dealing with your HOA. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ What an ADR demand means in the context of HOA disputes and the Davis-Stirling Act, and the risk of refusing to offer to participate in it. ✅ Service animals amenities, the only two questions an HOA may ask, and why treating a...
California’s new law, AB 130, caps HOA fines at $100 per violation. On the surface, that sounds like a win for homeowners. But not so fast. AB 130 is actually a disaster of a law, and in this 1-Min Attorney tip, HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, explains why. Rather than curbing HOA abuse, AB 130 is already fueling more ADR demands (the precursor to more lawsuits), more confusion, and more board misconduct. A lot of HOAs are going to go down one of two roads: (a) they’re either going to b...
In this episode of HOA Hell, attorney Michael Kushner breaks down one of the most common homeowner complaints that his law firm (MBK CHAPMAN) hears from homeowners. Selective enforcement. If your HOA fines you while letting neighbors slide for the same thing, or if your HOA allows others to build things on their properties but denies you permission to build the same type of thing, then your HOA is engaging in selective enforcement, and that’s against the law. In this episode, Kushner explains...
In California HOAs, service animals and emotional support animals are not the same, and confusing them leads to conflict. In this episode, attorney Michael Kushner explains what your HOA can and can’t ask, when ADA does not apply, how FHA and California fair-housing rules come into play, and what real-world limits (leash/control, nuisance, waste) still apply. If your board is hassling you about your animal, this episode is for you. What You’ll Learn: ✅ The core difference between servic...
Believe it or not, some HOAs in California have started citing homeowners for doing yoga, stretching, or light exercise in their own front yards. They claim that such activities violate vague “community aesthetic” standards. But under California law, boards can’t enforce made-up rules or govern your private behavior based on personal preference. In this 1-Minute Attorney Tip, HOA attorney Michael Kushner explains why HOA rules must comply with Civil Code § 4350, which requires that any ...
TO OUR HOA HELL PODCAST LISTENERS: We recorded this episode of HOA HELL two weeks before the tragic and horrifying events of September 10, 2025, in which Charlie Kirk was murdered. We are deeply saddened and outraged by this cowardly act of violence. At HOA HELL, we hold firmly to the principle that free speech is one of the most fundamental cornerstones of our nation. Whatever one’s political, social, or cultural views may be, every person has the right to their opinions and to express...
In this episode of HOA HELL, attorney Michael Kushner explains the fundamentals of how HOAs operate in California and what every homeowner should know before buying into one. From what HOAs are, to who runs them, to the critical duties of boards and management companies, this episode gives homeowners a clear picture of how these organizations actually function and the red flags to watch out for. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ What an HOA is under California law, and how CC...
Your HOA’s governing documents ban businesses, including day care. But is that legal? In this HOA Q&A, attorney Michael Kushner explains why California law protects licensed family day care homes, even inside HOAs that otherwise prohibit members from operating a business from their homes. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ Small day care homes are considered “residential use” under California law. ✅ HOAs can place reasonable restrictions on certain day care homes...
Top 5 HOA battles are coming for California homeowners in 2026. In this episode of HOA HELL, attorney Michael Kushner breaks down the disputes that will define HOA life in 2026, from AB 130 enforcement to insurance shocks, aging infrastructure, ADUs, and the rise of recalls. If you live in an HOA, now is the time to get informed and prepare. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ Why AB 130’s $100 fine cap is already fueling confusion, fine stacking debates, and more lawsuits. ✅ How soa...
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