Open guide

Changing administrator

The number one reason communities do not change is the fear of losing paperwork on the way. This is the closed list that prevents it. Use it with anyone.

It is the number one objection from any community thinking about changing: «if we change, we will lose paperwork and end up worse off». That is a fair worry, and the answer is not to promise it will be fine. It is to turn the handover into a procedure with a closed list.

The administrator's appointment lasts one year and ends simply by running out, under article 13.7 of the Spanish Horizontal Property Act. If you let it lapse there is no compensation and no penalty. The real cost of changing is not the contract. It is the paperwork that disappears if nobody asks for it in writing.

The handover list

This is what the community should request from the outgoing agent, ideally by letter from the president with a proposed delivery date.

Money

  • Bank statements for the current year and a certified balance at the handover date.
  • Full accounts: general ledger, list of receipts and payments.
  • Arrears by flat, showing how old each debt is.
  • The current budget and how much of it has been spent.
  • Change of bank signatories, with the date it takes effect.
  • Direct debit runs and each owner's SEPA mandate.

Community records

  • The minute book and the original minutes.
  • The deed of constitution and the statutes.
  • List of owners with their share and contact details.
  • The community's digital certificate and tax details.
  • The Building Book, if the developer handed it over.
  • The outgoing agent's data processing agreement.

Contracts and insurance

  • Every live supplier contract, with the latest invoices.
  • Notice and renewal dates for each one.
  • Insurance policies in force, including the ten year policy if there is one.
  • Open claims, with reference numbers and status.
  • Utility account logins: electricity, water, telecoms.

Physical items

  • Keys, fobs and access cards, with a count and a note of who holds them.
  • Codes for alarms, electrical panels and plant rooms.
  • Logins for CCTV and access control.

Anything still running

  • Open repairs, with their stage and who has the next action.
  • Decisions of the meeting still to be carried out.
  • Live claims against the developer, the builder or the insurer.
  • Debt recovery already started, in or out of court.
  • Warranty periods still running, with their expiry dates.

Use it with anyone, including our competitors. This list carries no branding and works for any change of administrator. We publish it because only a firm that is relaxed about its own handover would, and because a community that changes with this list in hand loses far less on the way.

Three rules that prevent almost every problem

  1. The president asks in writing, with a date

    A verbal request leaves no trace and sets no deadline. A letter listing the documents and proposing a delivery date turns silence into a recorded fact.

  2. There is a handover record signed by all three

    Outgoing agent, incoming agent and president, with the closing balance at the end date. Anything missing is simply recorded as not delivered, with no commentary.

  3. The change of bank signatories has an effective date

    This is the most neglected step and the one that causes the most trouble. Arrange it with the bank before the end date, not after.

Two documents that almost never turn up, and should be asked for by name.

The Building Book, on new developments. The developer must hand it over under article 7 of the Spanish Building Act, and in many young communities it simply never arrived. If it is missing, it has to be claimed from the developer, not from the outgoing agent.

The data processing agreement under article 28 of the GDPR. If there is none, record that, and the incoming agent signs its own with the community before touching any personal data.

The first job is that nobody notices

The day after the change, suppliers get paid, services run and fees are collected exactly as before. A good handover is invisible to any owner who is not on the committee. No supplier and no terms change without quotes and without a vote.

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Questions

Do we have to compensate the outgoing administrator for replacing them?

If you let the one year appointment run out, there is no compensation and no notice required: it ends by itself under article 13.7 of the Horizontal Property Act. If you revoke it early, the service contract governs. Read that contract before you put the item on the agenda.

What if the outgoing administrator will not hand over the paperwork?

The paperwork belongs to the community, not to the administrator. Article 20 e) of the Horizontal Property Act only puts it in their custody. If they will not hand it over, the route is a formal written demand from the president and, if that fails, a court claim. Recording what was missing on the handover record is what lets you prove it later.

How long does changing administrator take?

The vote itself is immediate. What takes time is the physical handover: two to four weeks if the records are in order, and considerably longer if they are not. Changing the bank signatories is usually the slowest step, so start it before the end date.

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