At Pembroke Property Management transparency and communication are at the heart of the business.

There are many factors which contribute to leaseholders wanting to change their property management company, the main reasons are the quality of service received and costs increasing due to poor controls. Below we will explain how to change your managing agent.

Options for changing managing agents

We have gone through the options for how to change your managing agent. See some of our case studies for examples of our work. We have also published some examples of our clients bulletin boards, resident handbooks etc.

It all depends how your lease is structured

1.  Tri-Party Lease – Three parties, the freeholder/landlord, the management company and the first leaseholder/property owner.

The management company is responsible for appointing the managing agent. Normally all leaseholders become members of the company when they purchase their property. There will be a board of directors who will instruct the managing agent on all matters. You can find out who they are by carrying out a search at Companies House. If you become a member of the board then you have the opportunity to made decisions and influence the board to re-tender the management contract.  You should contact your current managing agent and tell them that you would like to become a director of the management company. Ask them to send your request to the current board of directors.

If you do not wish to become a member of the board then you must convince the current board to re-tender the current managing agent’s contract.

2. Two-Party Lease – The freeholder/landlord and the first leaseholder/property owner.

This type of lease makes it more complex to change managing agents. The options available are:

• Get the Freeholder/Landlord to agree to change managing agents.
• Claim your Right to Manage. 50% of the leaseholders will need to agree to become members. Click on the link for more information. Pembroke Property Management are very experienced in bringing successful RTM claims.
• Buy the Freehold with the other leaseholders in your block. This may not work if leaseholders cannot raise the funds. It is often quicker to claim your Right to Manage to obtain management control. Leaseholders may proceed with buying the Freehold at a later date.
• Make an application to the Tribunal to appoint a manager. If you can demonstrate poor management then this procedure can work for you. We can assist with this process.

3. Tri-Party with Managing agent named in the leases.

Three parties, the freeholder/landlord, the Managing Agent and the first leaseholder/property owner. This is common in larger developments. There is often a clause written into the lease to exit the agreement. We have written another article about managing agents written into leases.