Changing managing agent: how a handover should work

A change of managing agent goes smoothly when notice is given properly under the management agreement and both agents work to an agreed handover of money, records and keys. Rushed handovers are where most problems start.

Who decides

The managing agent is appointed by the client, which is the freeholder, the Residents’ Management Company (RMC) or the Right to Manage (RTM) company. The decision to change belongs to them. An individual leaseholder cannot dismiss the agent, but leaseholders are not without a voice. They can raise concerns with the directors, and a recognised tenants’ association can serve notice requiring the landlord to consult it about the managing agent. Leaseholders who do not control the management may be able to claim the Right to Manage or, where there are serious failings, ask the tribunal to appoint a manager.

Read the management agreement first

The agreement sets the notice period and what happens at the end. Both sides are bound by it. Trying to cut the notice short usually backfires. The outgoing agent is still owed fees for the notice period, and a new agent who starts early may have no money to run the building.

One point for directors: a management agreement that runs for more than 12 months can count as a long-term agreement. If it costs any one leaseholder more than £100 a year, leaseholders must be consulted under Section 20 before it is signed.

A timetable that works

1. 01
   Give notice in writing

   Follow the terms of the agreement and agree the date that management ends.

2. 02
   Get the outgoing agent’s confirmation

   They should confirm the end date in writing, what will be handed over and when, who will deal with any ongoing court or tribunal cases and arrears, and whether any handover fees apply.

3. 03
   Agree a handover checklist

   The new agent sends the outgoing agent a detailed list and a timetable. Each firm should name one person to run the handover.

4. 04
   Tell everyone affected

   Leaseholders should be kept informed throughout. Contractors, suppliers and insurers need to know, and any site staff may be protected by the TUPE regulations.

5. 05
   Handover day

   Keys, leaseholder contact details, contractor and insurance information and most of the unspent funds should pass to the new agent on or before the handover date. The essential records should follow within about four weeks.

6. 06
   Within three months

   The outgoing agent hands over the balance of the funds with a reconciled statement of account to the handover date, including schedules of arrears, money owed and money due, and the invoices that support it.

The money

Funds move in two stages so that the new agent can pay bills from day one while the outgoing agent settles commitments already made. The money must go into a client or trust account, and the new agent needs to know how much is held for each purpose: the service charge, the reserve fund and any ground rent.

The records

The building’s records are the client’s property. The agent only looks after them and has to return them on request. Unless the contract says otherwise, an agent has no general right to hold on to a client’s records, and unpaid service charges are no reason to refuse. The outgoing agent may keep copies, or ask the new agent to promise to keep records for a set time, in case they are needed as evidence later. The outgoing agent cannot bill the new agent for the handover, because there is no contract between them.

Things that get missed

• Buildings insurance: who is responsible after handover, and when the policy renews.
• Contracts held in the outgoing agent’s name, such as energy supply deals, which may end when they leave.
• Who prepares the year-end service charge accounts if the handover falls partway through a financial year.
• Company records and the registered office, if the outgoing agent acted as company secretary.
• Disputed fees. The outgoing agent should raise any fees they believe are owed before the end date, not afterwards.
• Online repair reporting systems and resident portals, so that open repairs are not lost.

Thinking about a change?

Butlin Property Services offers a free, no-obligation management and service charge assessment for developments that are considering a new agent. We have managed blocks and estates from Leicester since 1997, and the directors or freeholder stay in control throughout. Our guide to what a managing agent does may also help.

This article is general guidance based on the law in England in October 2026. It is not legal advice. Your lease or transfer deed always comes first, so check it, and take professional advice on anything in dispute. You will find more answers in our FAQs.