Switching is simpler than you think. The hard part was your current agent. We handle the full takeover — compliance audit, financial reconciliation, leaseholder notification.
Most directors who switch managing agent have been thinking about it for a long time. Not because they enjoy the process of changing, but because the situation with their current agent has become untenable — accounts they cannot follow, calls that go unanswered, compliance that nobody is tracking, and a growing sense that the building is being managed for the agent's convenience, not the leaseholders' benefit.
The decision to switch is usually straightforward. The concern is what happens next: will the new agent be any better, will the handover be disruptive, and will we inherit a set of problems we did not know about? We have managed more than a few takeovers. We know what to look for, what to ask for, and what to do with what we find.
These are the situations directors describe to us most often when they make first contact. If several of these apply to your building, you already know the answer.
We will be direct about this: when a block has been poorly managed, the incoming agent inherits that. There is no clean break where the problems disappear at the moment of handover. What changes is that someone is now dealing with them properly. Based on what we have found when taking over blocks across East London and Essex, these are the most common inherited problems.
Service charge accounts where the balance cannot be reconciled against historic demands and expenditure. Reserve funds lower than the maintenance schedule justifies, with no clear explanation of the shortfall. Invoices on the system that cannot be matched to authorised works.
We have seen this at a 32-flat East London block where directors had been asking for accurate figures for years and never received them. We went in, audited the accounts methodically, reconciled what was there, and gave directors a clear written picture within weeks.
Certificates expired. Fire risk assessments out of date, or with outstanding actions never completed. Insurance policies with survey requirements that have not been met — which means a claim could fail at the point you need it most.
Buildings where insurance policy conditions have never been communicated to leaseholders, so a leaseholder removes a smoke detector and nobody is aware of the insurance implication until something goes wrong. These are the gaps we identify in the compliance audit and address in priority order.
Major works begun without a valid Section 20 notice. Consultation processes started but not completed. Works that ran for months without proper oversight or leaseholder communication.
In some cases, costs have been charged to the service charge that leaseholders are not legally obliged to pay because the Section 20 process was not correctly followed. We establish the Section 20 position for any ongoing or recent major works as part of the takeover audit.
Leases not on file. Historic service charge demands lost. Contractor warranties and guarantees nobody can locate. Correspondence held in one agent's personal email that leaves with them when they go.
Our online portal becomes the document management system the building should always have had — everything in one place, accessible to directors at any time.
We do not minimise what we find. We report it.
Directors switching agent sometimes hope the new agent will tell them everything is fine. We cannot always do that, and we will not pretend to. What we can tell you is what the position actually is, what the priority issues are, and what the options are for addressing them. A clear picture of a difficult position is more useful than a reassuring picture of an unclear one.
Switching managing agent does not require leaseholders to vote. It is a decision for the directors, within the terms of the management agreement. Most management agreements require one to three months' written notice. We help you understand what your agreement says and what to expect from the process.
Tell us about your building, your current agent, and what is not working. We listen, ask questions, and give you an honest view of whether we can help. We do not take on every instruction — only those where we can do a good job.
We help you identify the notice period, any termination conditions, and what you are entitled to request from your current agent on exit. Most residential block management agreements allow termination on one to three months' written notice.
You serve written notice of termination on your current agent. We can draft the letter. The notice period starts from receipt. During the notice period, you remain entitled to full information about the building, its accounts, and its compliance status.
We prepare a comprehensive list of what the outgoing agent must transfer: the full management file, service charge account balances and transaction history, reserve fund balance and supporting documentation, all compliance certificates and risk assessments, tenancy and lease documents, insurance schedule and policy documents, and any outstanding correspondence.
On receipt of the transfer, we conduct a full audit. Service charge accounts are reconciled. Reserve fund position is established. Every compliance obligation is checked. A written report is provided to directors before we take on active management.
Online portal live. Direct debit collection set up. Leaseholders notified of the new managing agent and given new contact and payment details. Compliance calendar established. Any priority issues from the audit are being addressed. The building is under proper management.
| Area | Before | With Neon |
|---|---|---|
| Financial visibility | Inconsistent figures. No system. Directors chasing for answers | Online portal. Real-time accounts. Every transaction documented |
| Compliance tracking | Unknown expiry dates. Gaps discovered reactively | Compliance calendar. Advance notice. Nothing expires unmanaged |
| Communication | Calls unreturned. Emails unanswered for weeks | Phone, WhatsApp, email. Responded to properly |
| Section 20 | Not run, run incorrectly, or left incomplete | Statutory process followed correctly from notice to completion |
| Insurance management | Policy conditions not monitored or communicated | Conditions tracked, communicated to leaseholders, surveys scheduled |
| Document access | Request and wait. Often incomplete. Sometimes lost | Online portal. Everything accessible. Directors in control |
| Reserve fund | Balance unclear. Possibly inadequate. No forward plan | Position established on audit. Contributions planned against maintenance schedule |
| Director support | Reactive at best. Absent at worst | Proactive briefings. Accessible management. Directors always informed |
Not every handover is smooth. Agents who have not managed well are sometimes reluctant to transfer a file that reveals the extent of their failures. They delay. They provide incomplete information. They contest the notice. In some cases they have been known to remove or withhold documents. We have managed difficult handovers. Here is what we do.
The outgoing agent is legally required to transfer the management file, the service charge accounts, the reserve fund balance, all compliance documentation, and the client money held on behalf of the building. We prepare a detailed request list from day one and follow it up systematically throughout the notice period.
Service charge balances can be partially reconstructed from bank statements. Compliance certificates can be obtained directly from Gas Safe, NAPIT, and the local authority. Insurance schedules can be obtained from the broker. We do not wait for the agent to cooperate when there are other routes to the information.
If the outgoing agent has failed to transfer documents they were required to transfer, that is a matter of record. We document what was and was not received, advise directors on the remedies available, and work around the gaps while the legal position is established. We do not pretend the problem does not exist.
"The worst handovers reveal the worst management."
We have taken over blocks where the outgoing agent had been providing inconsistent financial figures for years, where the accounts on transfer did not reconcile, and where compliance had been neglected to the point where urgent remedial action was needed on day one. We dealt with it. That is what takeovers from poor managers look like, and it is why the financial and compliance audit is the first thing we do — not after a settling-in period, but before active management begins.
We offer a free initial conversation for directors considering a switch. Tell us about your building and what has been going wrong. We will be honest about whether and how we can help.
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