Removing the property manager mid-term: what is possible, and at what cost

Waiting for the term to end is often cheaper. But when things deteriorate, there is a way out.

The manager no longer replies, accounts are not sent, voted works do not start, contractors go unpaid. The building wants to change, but the contract still has eighteen months to run. The question reaches the meeting: can they be removed before term?

The answer is yes, with several nuances worth knowing before putting the item on the agenda — because a badly prepared removal costs money and leaves the building without a manager.

The principle: a decision of the meeting

The manager is appointed by the general meeting, and it is the meeting that can end the mandate early. Removal is therefore voted at a meeting, at the same majority as the appointment.

It requires the item to be on the agenda: removal is not improvised in the room. The board can request the item, like any owner — see getting an item on the agenda.

The question of grounds

This is the most misunderstood point. The meeting can end the mandate, but a removal decided without legitimate grounds can give the outgoing manager a claim for compensation, typically the fees they would have earned to term.

• Repeated failures to meet contractual obligations, documented in writing.
• Failure to hand over accounting records despite written requests.
• Failure to convene the annual meeting within the required period.
• Failure to carry out decisions voted by the meeting.
• Failure to open or operate the separate bank account.

A file built on dated letters is worth infinitely more than a collective feeling. That is exactly what a board that writes produces: see what to do when the manager does not reply.

Never remove without a successor

This is the costliest practical error. A building with no manager can no longer pay contractors, collect charges or take legal action. Appointing the new manager must therefore be on the same agenda and voted immediately after.

That means tendering beforehand, with contracts compared at identical scope. The method is set out in the management contract and changing your property manager.

Handing over records and funds

After removal, the outgoing manager must hand over all the building’s documents and funds within set periods. This is when buildings discover the real state of their archives.

• The cash position and the separate account statements.
• Accounts and supporting documents for unapproved years.
• The maintenance log, surveys and the completed works file.
• Live contracts and contractor contact details.
• The building rules, schedule of division and minutes.

A board that digitised these as it went through the period without difficulty: see organising the archives and the separate bank account.

The cheaper alternative

Before considering removal there is a simpler route: not renewing. The mandate has a term, and nothing obliges the meeting to renew it. It is enough to put the appointment of a new manager on the agenda of the meeting preceding expiry.

That avoids any compensation risk and leaves time to compare offers seriously. It only requires anticipating by a few months — one of the recurring tasks described in the board’s role.

Removal with no successor appointed leaves the building with nobody to pay its bills: the most frequent error of all.

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