The first step is reviewing the termination terms of the current contract: is there a notice period, is a general meeting resolution required, which documents must the outgoing manager hand over. Condominium law does not prescribe a mandatory termination procedure for management contracts, it is a matter of agreement between the parties, so the original contract governs. The general meeting decides on appointing a new manager by simple majority, unless the house rules state otherwise.
The most important technical question is the handover itself: the complete archive (founding deed, house rules, meeting minutes, contracts), authority over the bank account, account balances and the list of owners in arrears, plus maintenance documentation (electrical safety records, fire safety inspections, lift inspection results) all have to be transferred. It is worth documenting this in writing with an itemised handover record, because an incomplete archive can hold the new manager back for months.
A common mistake is treating the change purely as a question of price. Behind the cheapest offer there is often less technical capacity, slower fault resolution or less transparent accounting. Ask the prospective manager concrete questions: how many buildings do they handle in parallel, how quickly do they respond to an emergency report, how do they document the use of common costs each month.
Timing matters too: the cleanest solution is to change after a closed business year, once the annual report has been approved, so the new manager takes over the books at a clean cut off point. If that is not possible because the situation is urgent, insist on a closing financial statement at the moment of handover, because without it, it is almost impossible to establish later during whose term a shortfall arose.
It is also worth agreeing in advance how long the previous manager remains available for questions after the handover. A fair contract sets this out as a 30 to 60 day transitional support obligation, since the new manager will almost certainly have questions about the building's history that only the previous company can answer.
If you are facing a change and want to know which questions to ask during a status review, contact the Merbo team. We are happy to go through your current situation with you before you decide.