HOA HELL

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 every grass area in the neighborhood, leaving nothing but the private streets.   So is an HOA allowed to do that, and what happens when the only place left...

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 law most parents have no idea is already on the books, and on exactly where your child rides. Kushner also addresses whether HOAs can require adults to wear...

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 attorney, calls it one of the clearest violations he has ever seen. In this Independence Day episode, Kushner breaks down Civil Code 4705 and 4710, the two Davi...

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 injuries, deaths, and damages caused by their kids’ illegal use of e-bikes or e-motorcycles, and a lot of them never saw it coming. Civil liability is always pr...

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 and a stranger starts snapping photos and recording video. Does your HOA have the power to pass a rule against it? This episode answers that questio...

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 HOA. In this episode, attorney Michael Kushner, a pioneer in homeowner-side HOA law in California, breaks down the "Unavailable" and "Not Elig...

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-renewed due to wildfire risk.  🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ That you should start by checking whether your area was subject to a moratorium when y...

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 charges. In this episode, attorney Michael Kushner, California’s most experienced homeowner-side HOA attorney, breaks down the e-bike, e-scooter, and e-motor...

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 declared disasters like the Altadena, Eton, and Palisades fires.   🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A:  ✅ How SB 625 limits HOA interference with post-di...

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 California's Balcony Law (SB 326), attorney Michael Kushner, considered by many in the industry to be the #1 homeowner-side HOA attorney in California, fol...

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 lose.  Most homeowners who lose to a bad HOA don't lose on the facts or the law. They lose because of what they do in the early days of the fight,...

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, California’s most experienced homeowner-side HOA attorney, breaks down California’s Balcony Law (SB 326) and shows homeowners how to find out today whether...

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 board under the Davis-Stirling Act.  🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A:  ✅ How California law defines an HOA “member” for voting and board eligibili...

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 record straight on what Civil Code § 5110 requires, and size has nothing to do with it.  🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ Whether small HOAs are e...

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 attorney in California, has spent years watching homeowners damage their own cases before they ever contact an attorney. In this episode, he breaks down the...

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 Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ The legal protections that normally shield HOA board members from personal liability. ✅ The specific types of conduct that can expose...

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 can make that change without a membership vote (and when it can’t), and why noise, parking, lights, guests, and court placement can turn a pickleball conversi...

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 such claims and damages.  🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ The legal standard for emotional distress claims and why it’s difficult to meet it. ✅...

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 You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ Whether HOA boards have authority to change how common areas are used. ✅ The role an HOA’s governing documents play in those deci...

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.  🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ What the California FAIR Plan is and when homeowners are forced to rely on it. ✅ How FAIR Plan coverage differs...

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 architectural guidelines, to pet rules, election rules, and emergency rulemaking, this episode explains where HOA rulemaking authority comes from, what limits apply...

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 water intrusion.  🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ Whether condo owners have the right to install solar panels on a portion of the common area...

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 episode, California’s leading homeowner-side HOA attorney, Michael Kushner, walks through the steps involved in suing a California HOA, including the issues you...

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 Civil Code § 5515 requires for an HOA to borrow from its reserves. ✅ What notice and documentation requirements apply before and after the loan is approved. ✅ When home...

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 restrictions that HOAs are allowed to impose.   🎯 What You’ll Learn in This HOA Q&A: ✅ The role that Civil Code §§ 714 and 714.1 play in protecting homeowners’...