Change administrator in a community of owners

A simple process that can improve many aspects of community life.

It might seem a bit of a risk to start this blog with a post entitled “Changing the administrator in a homeowners” association’, but in Southern We believe in our work and in the fact that nothing lasts forever.

If an administrator simply fails to fulfil their duties, or disappears when they are needed most, or is found to be putting off tasks and taking a long time to complete work, the best course of action is undoubtedly to replace them. In some cases, improving the community starts with changing the administrator.

The process of changing the administrator

The stages of the process.

The three questions we are usually asked whenever people enquire about this procedure are generally as follows:

Who is responsible for convening the owners’ meeting?

Contrary to what most people assume – that it is actually the property manager who calls the owners’ meetings – the reality is that it is the chair of the owners’ association who calls the meeting; however, the chair may delegate the task of notifying owners of the meeting to the property manager.

What’s more, fortunately we can now send out notices by email and hold general meetings of owners – whether extraordinary or not – via platforms such as Zoom , in compliance with all legal requirements

It may be the case that the chair of the residents’ association cannot be contacted. It may also be the case that they are reluctant to change, for whatever reason. In this scenario, the Condominium Act Article 16 provides that a meeting may be convened with the consent of a quarter (25%) of the owners or where the owners represent 25% of the total value of the community. It expressly states that “meetings shall be convened by the chairperson and, in their absence, by the organisers of the meeting (…)”

What items should be included on the agenda?

We must start from the premise that the administrator is, in effect, just another member of staff within the communities; therefore, the process of change is governed by the same requirements that we would take into account when changing any other service.

In order to carry out this change of administrator, a simple majority vote from the owners’ association is required.

This meeting may be convened by way of an extraordinary notice and exclusively for this purpose.

To avoid any procedural irregularities, the order of proceedings would be to vote first on the removal of the previous administrator, and then immediately proceed to the vote to appoint the new administrator.

A simple majority is required for both decisions to be implemented. This makes it possible to hold the two votes separately: one on the dismissal and the other on the new appointment.

Our advice will always be that both of you should coordinate your efforts for the call for proposals addressing this issue.

Is it essential for the administrator who is to be dismissed to be present at the meeting?

The unequivocal answer is that he has no right to attend that meeting, and therefore the community may refuse to allow the outgoing administrator to be present at the meeting at which his dismissal is to be discussed.

There is no doubt that the presence of the outgoing property manager prevents owners from freely expressing their opinions and, consequently, from voting without any pressure on how the manager has carried out their duties.

It is misleading that, in favourable circumstances, the presence of the administrator is essential for a meeting to be conducted properly; however, this should not be confused with a right as such.

How to call a meeting to dismiss a director and avoid a challenge

As would be the case in any other situation, there are a number of requirements that must be met for the meeting to be considered properly convened, namely:

• Specify who convenes the meeting.
• Please state the date and time of the first and second call.
• Please state the venue where the meeting is to be held.
• List the items on the agenda to be discussed.

Just as there is a change of government in reality.

For those of us working in administration, this issue is a common one and we are familiar with the process.

It is perfectly normal – this is a common scenario – for a member of the community to contact us (whether by post, by visiting the office or by telephone) to seek advice on how to change the administrator before the current one steps down.

If you have inspired confidence in them, the next thing they will ask us to do is to organise the owners’ meeting, and even to attend it. When Meridional is asked to carry out this sort of work, we naturally get straight to work. When the time comes, we attend, introduce ourselves, answer any questions and then leave the meeting so as not to interfere with the discussion and subsequent vote.

This type of preliminary advice is completely free of charge. We also recognise that, beyond the business’s interests, there is a community of property owners who are going through a difficult time and need help to stabilise the situation or even to maintain essential services.

At Meridional, we believe that, in order to succeed during the change process, a professional must carry out, manage and oversee this procedure from start to finish.

Should a residents’ association put up with an ineffective property manager, or switch to a proactive one?

This is one of the first questions we should ask ourselves if we notice that, for some time, nothing has been running smoothly in our community. Further reflections on the relationship between owners’ associations and property managers always lead us to consider the fundamental role of an effective property manager, which goes beyond simply paying bills and chasing up debtors.

Is “the devil you know” really better than something new and unknown when it comes to property management? We never cease to be amazed at how many people are not actually happy with the way their housing estates are managed.

Transparency is the basis for trust in the administrator

There is dissatisfaction with the management, not only in terms of repairs and maintenance, but also with regard to the costs of such work and the transparent recruitment of the professionals who are going to work in our community.

Very often, the administrators themselves also act as providers of other essential services for the community, and the best practice of requesting and comparing several quotes is neglected. Out of habit, people stick with what they already have and fail to consider other options that might be more suitable or cost-effective.

Poor management of housing estates not only means we find ourselves living in an environment we do not like or which is not healthy for homeowners, but it can also have a significant impact on the value of our homes.

At Meridional, we care about the people who live in the communities

It may seem like nothing more than advertising, but at Meridional we are fully committed; we believe in a spirit of service, in being proactive, in listening to and responding to the concerns of local communities, in ensuring transparency in our supplier selection processes, and in providing timely updates on the progress of specific procedures, how a repair is going, or whether a fault has been resolved.

We’re not doing anything new or surprising; we’re simply providing the essentials that a community needs, and we do it well, transparently and with a highly committed team. That’s what sets us apart. There’s no secret to it.

At Meridional, we’ve set up our own office – bright, welcoming and always open. We deal with things directly; there’s no chain of internal consultations to slow us down beyond what’s reasonable. It’s as simple as that: we’re always there, and what you see is what you get.

No two communities are exactly the same

We are also aware that no two communities are the same. We tailor our services to each community, to its specific characteristics and to its individual needs. Each community requires a different approach because its needs differ; this enables us to be an effective property manager, as we do not apply the same solution to different problems.

Improving wellbeing by changing your manager

Bringing about change is the only way forward, but the problem, in many cases, is the inertia built up over the years and how complicated the process of changing administrators might seem at first glance – a change that would help improve our well-being, if not create it in the first place. Choosing an administrator with additional services which improve our quality of life, are another way of making things better.

So yes, it can be tricky, but that’s not always the case: you might be surprised at how, once you start talking about the possibility of change, people are keen to help and get involved in finding a new community management team.

What’s more, we always find that, in the end, inertia can only cause more harm, and no “known evil” is better!

We hope you found this article interesting and that we have been able to answer some of your questions or concerns. If so, we are delighted.

If you need to change the administrator of your owners’ association, you can ask us for a quote and we’ll let you know just how cost-effective it will be for us to manage your association. Please don’t hesitate to get in Contact us.

Every community is unique, and we treat them as such, drawing up highly personalised quotes and taking into account their specific objectives and needs.