Changing Your Building Management Provider: A Step-by-Step Guide

Most committees that want to change building managers put it off for the same reason: they worry that keys, records and contractor arrangements will get lost in the gap between the old provider and the new one. That risk is real, but it’s manageable if the handover is planned. This guide sets out the steps in order.

Step 1: Read your current agreement

Before anything else, find the current building management agreement and check:

• The start date, term and expiry date
• The notice period and how notice must be given
• Any termination conditions or fees
• What the outgoing provider must hand over at the end of the agreement
• Who owns records, data and building software accounts

If the agreement is unclear, or you’re considering ending it before expiry, get advice before acting. Your strata manager can help, and a strata lawyer can advise on specific terms.

Step 2: Decide what you need

Changing providers is a chance to fix whatever wasn’t working. Write down the problems with the current arrangement and what the building actually needs: hours on site, response times, reporting, and any extra services such as cleaning or concierge. Our guides to choosing the right level of cover and what drives cost can help frame this.

Step 3: Get proposals and follow the right approval process

Ask shortlisted providers to inspect the building before quoting — a proposal written without a site visit is a guess. Compare them on the same basis: hours, leave cover, after-hours support, reporting and exclusions.

Check with your strata manager which decision-maker needs to approve the new appointment for your scheme — the committee or the owners corporation at a general meeting — and allow time for any meeting notice periods in your timeline.

Step 4: Plan the handover

This is where continuity is won or lost. Agree a handover date with the outgoing provider, and ideally a joint walk-through of the building with both managers present. Use a checklist so nothing depends on memory.

Handover checklist

• Keys and access: a counted key register, spare fobs and remotes, and administrator access to the access control system in the owners corporation’s name
• Contractors: current service contracts, contact details and schedules for fire safety, lifts, pumps, cleaning, gardening and pest control
• Compliance records: the fire safety schedule, past Annual Fire Safety Statements and open fire safety defects
• Open work: outstanding work orders, quotes awaiting approval and the defect register
• Building information: asset registers, operation and maintenance manuals, warranties and as-built drawings where they exist
• Systems and data: an export of the building’s records from any building management software, CCTV system access, and the building portal or website
• Routines: bin schedules, move-in procedures, lift booking rules and emergency contact lists

Step 5: Tell residents and contractors

Send residents a short notice before the changeover: who the new building manager is, how to report issues, and the emergency number. Contractors need the same information so they know who to call on arrival and who approves their work. A gap here is how jobs end up unsupervised in the first weeks.

Step 6: The first months with a new provider

A new building manager’s early priorities should include:

• A full inspection of common property to establish a baseline
• Reviewing every open work order and defect inherited from the previous provider
• Meeting each regular contractor and confirming schedules
• Checking where the building stands in its fire safety and compliance cycle
• An early report to the committee on what was found and what comes first

How TBPM handles a changeover

Our process for buildings moving to TBPM is:

1. Complimentary site assessment. We inspect the building and meet your committee, at no cost and with no obligation.
2. Tailored proposal. Hours, scope and pricing built around what we found.
3. Managed handover. We take over records, keys, contractor relationships and resident communications, working through the handover with your outgoing provider.

New engagements also include a complimentary energy and financial audit and a dedicated building website for resident notices. Part-time and hybrid engagements include a building asset register documenting plant, equipment and major components.

Read more about full-time on-site building management or part-time and hybrid building management, or request a free site assessment to start the conversation.