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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.
110 Episodes
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In this Q&A, attorney Michael Kushner explains who controls the location of an Internal Dispute Resolution meeting in California HOAs and why neither the homeowner nor the board gets to dictate it under the Davis-Stirling Act. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ Who has authority to select the location for an IDR under Civil Code § 5915(b)(4). ✅ What “mutually convenient time and place” legally requires from both homeowners and HOAs. ✅ How homeowners should respond when an HO...
When water leaks into your home, most homeowners are told one of two things: the HOA has to pay for everything, or go through your own insurance. Both answers are often wrong. In Part 1 of this two-part HOA HELL episode, attorney Michael Kushner breaks down why water intrusion disputes are so common in California HOAs, and why bad boards and managers give oversimplified answers that can cost homeowners thousands of dollars. What You’ll Learn: ✅ Why water leak disputes in HOAs are more c...
In this HOA Q&A, attorney Michael Kushner explains when an HOA can face liability (for resulting injuries or deaths) for serving alcohol at an HOA-sponsored event, and why most HOA-sponsored gatherings remain protected under Civil Code § 1714. This segment clears up a common misconception about fees, alcohol service, and third-party injury claims. What You’ll Learn in This Episode ✅ When an HOA is protected as a social host under Civil Code § 1714. ✅ The single circumstance wh...
In this special extended episode of HOA HELL, attorney Michael Kushner addresses a growing problem in California HOA disputes, where slick marketing and SEO visibility increasingly replace real legal experience, accuracy, and performance. If you are trying to figure out who the real HOA experts are and who the slickly-marketed pretenders are, this episode is for you. What You’ll Learn in This Episode ✅ The 3 filters you should always use before you ever hire an HOA law firm....
* UNLESS they give equal access to all candidates. If you’re running against sitting HOA board members, California law strictly limits how they can campaign. Directors cannot use HOA-funded resources to influence an election unless they give equal access to every candidate. When incumbents take over official HOA channels and shut others out, they break the law. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This 1-Minute Tip: ✅ What California Civil Code § 5135 prohibits during HOA elections. ✅ Which HOA resou...
In this HOA Q&A, HOA HELL host Michael Kushner explains why short-term use of the clubhouse by an HOA member for a private event, like a wedding reception or birthday party, does not constitute a transfer of common area to a member for that member’s exclusive use, and therefore does not trigger the membership vote requirement contained in Civil Code § 4600. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ Why temporary reservations don’t constitute a grant of exclusive use under Civ...
HOA director term limits create confusion for homeowners and boards alike. Some people insist they’re invalid under California law. Others rely on them to force board turnover. Both sides often speak with confidence, but not accuracy. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This 1-Minute Tip: ✅ When term limits can be enforced in California HOAs. ✅ Where valid term limits must appear to have legal effect. ✅ The potential problems associated with term limits and how smart boards address those problems.&n...
In this episode of HOA HELL, attorney Michael Kushner breaks down the Business Judgment Rule, including its purpose and how bad HOAs misuse it to shut homeowners down. If your board or manager keeps throwing the “BJR” at you as if it ends the conversation, this episode is for you. What You’ll Learn in This Episode ✅ What the Business Judgment Rule is and why it exists. ✅ That the Business Judgment Rule does not decide disputes or bar lawsuits. ✅ How Corporations Code section 7231 ...
If you submit a valid architectural application and your HOA changes the rules to block it, the board is almost certainly violating the Davis-Stirling Act. California law does not let HOAs move the goalposts mid-review simply because they dislike a proposed project. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This 1-Minute Tip: ✅ Why HOAs must apply the rules in place when you submit your application. ✅ How Civil Code § 4765 limits architectural discretion through fairness and good faith. ✅ When rule change...
HOA boards love to invoke the Business Judgment Rule as a shield against criticism, but few homeowners understand what that rule is supposed to do or why it exists in the first place. This Tip sets the foundation. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This 1-Minute Tip: ✅ What the Business Judgment Rule means in California HOAs. ✅ The basic standards directors must meet to receive protection. ✅ Why the law gives boards a presumption of reasonableness. This is Tip 1 of a 3-part 1-Minute Attorney ...
In this episode of HOA HELL, attorney Michael Kushner explains how bad managers often overstep their authority, manipulate processes, and distort information while weak or complicit directors quietly lose control. If this sounds familiar to you, then this episode can help. What You’ll Learn in This Episode ✅ How bad HOA managers cross the line from mere administration into governance. ✅ Why weak boards unintentionally allow managers to take control. ✅ How bad managers use information ga...
Attorney Michael Kushner concludes his two-part HOA HELL episode on disabilities and accommodations in California HOAs. In this episode, Kushner explains who qualifies as disabled under California law, what HOAs are legally allowed to ask, and what HOA boards must do when a disabled homeowner makes a request for an accommodation. What You’ll Learn in This Episode ✅ How California law defines disability more broadly than federal law. ✅ What HOAs are legally allowed to ask when a h...
In this two-part episode of HOA HELL on disability rights in California HOAs, attorney Michael Kushner focuses on how the law treats homeowners with disabilities. What You’ll Learn in This Episode ✅ How federal and California law treat disability differently. ✅ The types of accommodation requests that commonly trigger HOA resistance. In Part 1, attorney Michael Kushner explains how everyday accommodation requests—like parking changes, ramps, handrails, lifts, and access to common ...
In this episode, attorney Michael Kushner explains how rental restrictions work under the Davis-Stirling Act. He also walks through common HOA tactics that create improper hurdles for owners, the financial consequences to an HOA that blocks lawful rentals, and what homeowners can do if their HOAs are violating the law. What You’ll Learn in This Episode ✅ How Civil Code sections 4740 and 4741 limit HOA authority. ✅ Why ADUs and JADUs get treated differently than other types ...
Attorney Michael Kushner tackles real questions from California homeowners in this special “Ask Me Anything” episode of HOA HELL. From neighbor disputes and property damage, to HOA governance, every question comes directly from listeners of the podcast. What You’ll Learn in This Episode ✅ When smoke from a neighbor’s wood smoker crosses the line into an actionable nuisance that interferes with the use and enjoyment of your home. ✅ How California law treats overhanging branches, fr...
In this episode, attorney Michael Kushner tackles an important question: Do you have a right to see the license and insurance information of a contractor hired by your HOA before the contractor commences work on your property? Kushner explains why, even though the Davis Stirling Act is technically silent on this specific point, California law very likely implies that the answer is yes. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ How unlicensed or uninsured contractors hired by your HOA can e...
In this episode of HOA HELL, attorney Michael Kushner explains how conflicts of interest arise naturally inside California HOAs and why they only become a serious problem when boards fail to disclose them or handle them correctly. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ How the law defines a “conflict of interest.” ✅ The legal difference between abstaining and recusal. ✅ How conflicts of interest commonly appear in most HOAs. ✅ How to use Civil Code 5200 record requests to detect undiscl...
In this episode of HOA HELL, attorney Michael Kushner explains how California’s HOA Open Meeting Act works. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ What the Open Meeting Act is and the most common ways that HOAs in California violate it. ✅ The notice and agenda rules for all types of board meetings. ✅ The five specific topics that may be discussed in executive session and why everything else must be handled in open meetings. ✅ How emergency board meetings work. ✅ What you need to know ab...
In this 1-Minute Atty Tip, attorney Michael Kushner explains who’s responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of HOA common areas and exclusive use common areas. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This 1-Minute Atty Tip: ✅ The default responsibility rules under Civil Code 4775. ✅ When HOAs must pay for repair, replacement, and maintenance of common area components. ✅ How responsibility works for exclusive use common area components. ✅ What to do when your HOA wrongly claims you owe fo...
If you receive a pre-lien letter from your HOA, you cannot ignore it. In this 1-Minute Atty Tip, attorney Michael Kushner breaks down what a pre-lien notice is, why you must not ignore it, and what you should do if you receive one. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This 1-Minute Atty Tip: ✅ What a pre-lien letter is and why it signals real risk to your property. ✅ The 30-day notice requirement before an HOA can record a lien or begin foreclosure. ✅ The immediate steps you can take to dispute char...
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