Managing-agent appointments
A long task list is not a clear management agreement.
Name the principal, the authority and the reporting line. Then make money, decisions, records and exit practical enough to work on a difficult day.
Start here
Put four controls around the appointment.
Who is appointing whom?
Identify the legal entity appointing the agent, the property covered, the start date and the documents that give the principal authority to instruct the work.
What may the agent decide?
Separate routine delegated authority from board approval. Set spend limits, emergency powers, procurement rules and reserved decisions in usable terms.
What must the agent return?
Specify accounts, bank records, contracts, compliance evidence, complaints, insurance records, data and reporting frequency, including the format needed at handover.
How does it end?
Check notice, breach, termination assistance, document return, system access, money transfer, supplier communication and any fees that survive termination.
Work through it
Test the agreement against real building moments.
- 01
An urgent leak
Who can instruct work, to what value, from which supplier list and how quickly must the board receive the evidence?
- 02
A disputed bill
Who answers, who approves the position and where are the lease clause, demand, account and correspondence held?
- 03
A major project
Who scopes, consults, procures, recommends, appoints and certifies? Keep statutory duties and commercial approval distinct.
- 04
The final day
Can the next board or agent receive complete, readable and reconciled records without depending on one person's inbox?
Take the next step in LEASE-iQ
What can the agent do, and what remains with the client?
Use this for authority, instructions, fees, records or a disputed management action.
Keep checking: The lease does not prove the agent's appointment or delegated authority. The current management agreement and client decisions matter.
Open the sources
Make authority, reporting and exit explicit.
This guide helps boards review an appointment. It is not a model management agreement and does not decide whether a particular clause transfers risk or creates an enforceable remedy.
Independent guide to appointing and employing a managing agent
↗LegislationCompanies Act 2006, section 171Directors must act within the company's powers
↗LegislationCompanies Act 2006, section 174Duty to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence
↗Company and building-management sources checked 18 August 2026. The signed agreement, leases and each duty-specific source control the actual appointment.
