Changing your syndic : the full procedure, step by step

Why owners come to us

The reasons repeat themselves: service charges rising without clear explanation, a manager who cannot be reached or changes every eighteen months, works voted but never started, a council of owners that feels it merely rubber-stamps decisions.

Then there is the contract. An attractive annual fee can prove far more expensive once so-called prestations particulières — extras billed individually — are added: each recorded letter, each site visit, each pre-sale statement. We have seen contracts where those extras exceeded the headline fee.

Finally, forward planning. A building that has never scheduled its major works eventually faces an exceptional call of several thousand euros per lot, which some owners simply cannot absorb.

When to start

The change is decided at a general meeting, when the syndic's mandate comes up for renewal. Because the appointment is for a fixed term, simply not renewing ends it — there is no dismissal to justify, and no reason to give.

Timing is what really matters. The request to add the item to the agenda must reach the outgoing syndic before the meeting notices are sent, which is generally three weeks before the meeting itself. In practice you should start one to three months ahead.

This is the most common mistake: a building deciding in January to change syndic for a meeting scheduled in February arrives too late, and must wait another year.

The procedure in practice

Step 1 — Obtain proposals. The council of owners approaches several firms. For quotes to be comparable, give each the same documents: the latest meeting minutes, the operating budget, the number of lots and the building's equipment.

Step 2 — Request the agenda item. The council, or indeed any single owner, sends the sitting syndic a letter by recorded delivery (lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception) asking for the candidate syndic to be added to the agenda, enclosing the draft contract. The sitting syndic cannot refuse.

Step 3 — The vote. The meeting hears the proposals and votes under the Article 25 majority — a majority of the votes of all owners, whether present or not. If the vote gathers at least a third of all votes without reaching that majority, a second vote by simple majority may be held immediately.

Step 4 — The handover. The outgoing syndic has one month to hand over the cash position, then two further months for the archives and the balance of funds. We handle the chasing, and we know what leverage exists when it drags.