A guide for boards of directors

Changing condo managers: the steps, from notice to the transfer of the books

A contract to reread, a resolution to adopt, a written notice to send, books to recover. Here is the order of operations, what the board should obtain from the outgoing manager, and what happens during the thirty days after signature.

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Changing condo managers takes six steps: reread the current contract and its notice period, compare two or three proposals, have the board adopt a resolution, notify the outgoing manager in writing, sign with the successor, then transfer the books, the funds and the access. At multiRent, the handover takes 30 jours from signature.

01

When a change is warranted, and when a reset is enough

Changing managers costs the board time. Before starting, it is worth telling apart the irritant that one meeting can settle from the underlying problem that will not go away.

01

The numbers arrive late

Financial statements, bank reconciliations and contingency fund tracking delivered months after the period ends, or only after a reminder. A board that cannot see its numbers cannot decide.

02

Requests go unanswered

Co-owners who write three times, work that nobody follows up, minutes that lag after the meeting. When the board starts relaying everything itself again, the mandate is no longer doing its job.

03

Billing becomes unreadable

Fees added mid-year, charges outside the package that nobody saw coming, increases without explanation. Whatever is billed extra should appear in the contract, in writing.

A reset can be enough. A new contact person at the same firm, a reporting calendar, or a written list of points to correct with a date attached will settle some situations. If nothing moves by that date, the board at least has a written record for what comes next.

02

Who decides: the board of directors or the general meeting?

Most often, the board. But your declaration of co-ownership has the final word.

The Civil Code of Québec provides that the day-to-day administration of the syndicate may be entrusted to a manager, chosen from among the co-owners or not (art. 1085 C.C.Q.). In most buildings, it is the board of directors that retains the manager, signs the contract and ends it, because those acts belong to the administration of the syndicate.

Your declaration of co-ownership may, however, provide otherwise: some require a consultation or a vote of the general meeting to appoint or replace the manager. It is the first document to reread, before the contract itself.

In every case, the decision is made by board resolution, recorded in the minutes: end date of the current mandate, manager retained, director in charge of follow-up. The Code provides that the minutes of a board decision are sent to the co-owners within thirty days (art. 1086.1 C.C.Q.); it is a good moment to explain the change to them.

Special case: the new building. The board appointed at the meeting that follows the developer’s loss of control has sixty days, from its election, to end without penalty a maintenance or service contract of more than one year entered into earlier by the syndicate (art. 1107 C.C.Q.). If your management contract dates from that period, have it checked without delay whether it is covered and on what date the period began. The transition from developer to syndicate.

03

Read the current contract before anything else

The contract signed with the current manager settles almost everything: the date you can leave, the notice to give and what leaving may cost. Five clauses to locate.

Clause	What to look for	Why it matters
Term and expiry	The start date, the term and the exact end date.	It is the simplest exit: do not renew at expiry.
Automatic renewal	Does the contract renew by itself? Until what date can you object?	A missed date can renew the mandate for a full period.
Termination notice	The notice period, commonly 30 to 90 days, the required form and the addressee.	A notice sent late or in the wrong form can be contested.
Indemnity or exit fees	A penalty, fees owed until the end of the term, charges for transferring the files.	It is the real cost of leaving mid-contract.
Handover of documents	The list of documents, their format and the handover deadline.	These documents belong to the syndicate; better that the contract says when and how they come back.

Our role stops at the administrative. We go through the dates and clauses of the current contract with you. Their interpretation belongs to the syndicate’s lawyer or notary. What a management agreement contains.

04

The six steps, in order

Order matters: choose the successor before notifying the outgoing manager. A syndicate should not spend a single day without a manager or an emergency line.

Step 1

Reread the declaration of co-ownership and the contract

Who decides, when the contract ends, what notice it requires. Put the deadlines in the board’s calendar.

Step 2

Compare two or three proposals

Ask for written quotes on the same basis: services included, what is billed extra, a dated transition plan. Criteria for choosing a manager.

Step 3

Adopt the board resolution

End of the current mandate, manager retained, director responsible for the transition. The resolution is recorded in the minutes.

Step 4

Notify the outgoing manager in writing

Within the period and in the form the contract sets out, with the end date and the list of documents and access to hand over. Keep proof of sending.

Step 5

Sign the new mandate and the transfer letter

The letter authorises the new manager to receive the files on behalf of the syndicate. Set a single switchover date for collections and payments.

Step 6

Transfer, then inform the co-owners

Books, funds, registers and access change hands. Co-owners receive the new contact details and what to do about their payments.

05

The transfer file: what the syndicate must recover

The Civil Code lists what the register of the co-ownership contains (art. 1070 C.C.Q.). Add to it the accounting books, the funds and the access. Ask for all of it in writing, with a handover date.

Accounting and banking

General ledger, trial balance and financial statements as of the end date
Bank reconciliations and statements for the operating account and the contingency fund
Each co-owner’s balance, accounts in arrears and payment agreements
Unpaid invoices and deposits in transit
Co-owners’ pre-authorised debit agreements

Registers and documents of the syndicate

Declaration of co-ownership, building by-laws and their amendments
Minutes of general meetings and board meetings, written resolutions
Register of co-owners and description of the private portions
Maintenance logbook and contingency fund study
Plans, specifications and certificates of location, where they exist

Contracts, insurance and open files

Supplier contracts, with their expiry dates
The syndicate’s insurance policy, open claims and correspondence with the insurer
Work in progress, quotes received and holdbacks
Disputes, demand letters and files entrusted to a lawyer
Filings with the Registraire des entreprises and tax files

Access and security

Bank access and the list of signing officers
Co-owner portal, mailboxes and telephone numbers of the syndicate
Keys, fobs and codes for the access systems
Accounts held with suppliers and utilities
Passwords changed on the switchover date

Require a closing of accounts as of the end date. A bank reconciliation and a list of co-owner balances, drawn up as of the exact date of the change and sent in writing. It is the starting point of the accounting that follows, and the document that prevents arguments six months later.

06

Timelines and costs: what to expect

Two clocks are running: the notice period of the contract you are leaving, then the handover to the manager coming in.

Notice to the outgoing manager: The one in your contract, commonly 30 to 90 days. It sets the departure date.
Handover to multiRent: 30 jours from signature, with dated milestones.
Exit cost: Whatever the current contract provides: fees up to the end date, sometimes an indemnity or transfer charges.
Entry cost at multiRent: 450 $, charged once. It covers taking on the file and transferring the books. Amounts before tax. GST and QST apply (14.975%).
Length of our contract: One year, renewable. The termination terms are in the contract and are explained to you before signature.

The simplest moment is the end of the fiscal year: the books close on a clean date, and the new manager prepares the next budget. A change during the year remains entirely feasible, provided the accounts are closed as of the switchover date. Only avoid the weeks before the annual general meeting, when the financial statements and the notice of meeting are being prepared.

The full pricing grid, with worked examples

07

Common pitfalls

A transition rarely goes wrong because of the law. It goes wrong because of a missed date or a forgotten access.

What protects the syndicate

Choosing the successor before notifying the outgoing manager
Sending the notice in writing, in the form the contract requires, and keeping proof
Setting a single switchover date for collections and payments
Updating the bank signing officers that same day
Notifying co-owners before the new manager’s first debit

What complicates a transition

Letting the date to object to automatic renewal go by
Accepting the files without a bank reconciliation as of the end date
Withholding fees owed to force the handover of documents, without first speaking to the syndicate’s lawyer
Forgetting access: portal, mailboxes, supplier accounts, entry codes
Launching major work or a special assessment in the middle of the switchover

08

With multiRent: your first thirty days

The same sequence on every mandate, with something in writing at each milestone.

Day 0

Signature

File opened the same day, dedicated team assigned.

Weeks 1 and 2

Transfer of the books

We collect the records and list in writing what is missing.

Weeks 3 and 4

Everything switches over

Portal, debits, suppliers and emergencies taken over; co-owners notified.

Day 30

Report to the board

Written report and calendar for the next twelve months.

In practice, you sign the transfer letter and designate one director as contact. We collect the files, we chase the outgoing manager if they drag their feet, we carry over the balances and we notify the co-owners. You get the state of play in writing, at regular intervals, then a report on day 30.

No interruption of service. The emergency line is active from the day of signature, before the transfer is even complete. Your first thirty days, in detail.

09

Frequently asked questions about changing managers

Can we change condo managers in the middle of a contract?

That depends first on the contract: notice period, form of the notice and, sometimes, an indemnity. The Civil Code also sets out rules on ending a contract for services (arts. 2125 and 2129 C.C.Q.), which your contract may adjust. Have the contract read by the syndicate’s lawyer before sending the notice.

Is a vote of the co-owners required?

In general, the decision belongs to the board of directors, which administers the syndicate. Your declaration of co-ownership may, however, require a consultation or a vote of the general meeting: it is the document to check first.

How much notice must we give the current manager?

The notice written in the contract, commonly 30 to 90 days, in the form it requires. If the contract renews automatically, also find the deadline for objecting to renewal.

How long does a change of manager take?

Count the notice period of the current contract, then the handover. At multiRent, the handover takes 30 jours from signature, with a written report to the board on day 30.

How much does a change of manager cost?

Two items: what the outgoing contract provides on termination, and the new manager’s entry cost. At multiRent, the setup fee is 450 $, charged once, transfer of the books included. See pricing.

What if the former manager is slow to hand over the documents?

Ask for them in writing, with a list and a date. The register of the co-ownership is the syndicate’s, which must keep it (art. 1070 C.C.Q.). If the handover does not happen, the file goes to the syndicate’s lawyer. When we take on a mandate, we do the chasing.

Do co-owners have to redo their pre-authorised debits?

That depends on how the fees were collected. If the debits ran through the outgoing manager’s account or system, new agreements are needed. We notify each co-owner and tell them what to do before the switchover date.

Is there an interruption of service during the transition?

There should not be one if the new mandate starts on the day the old one ends. At multiRent, the emergency line is active from the day of signature, before the transfer of the books is even complete.

Let’s talk about your transition

Tell us when your contract ends and what is prompting the change. We call you back to place your file — with no sales proposal until we have understood your situation.

Would you rather talk right now? 438 817-8399 — or pick a slot directly in our calendar.