The Model Management Services Agreement is carefully written to make sure you and your manager know just what to expect from each other. It covers the property manager’s duties, how they are paid, when they need to get things done and where their authority starts and stops.
The agreement includes a number of schedules that set out
- the core property-management services
- extra services that some co-ops need and others may want to purchase
- forms for the manager to use when reporting to the board.
These schedules are attached to the Model Management Agreement below, which you can download and fill out. You will also find them separately at the bottom of Hire Good Help.
Before you read the agreement, we should point out some key features. The first is that the manager’s pay depends on the housing charges the co-op collects. So a manager who fills empty units and collects arrears promptly will earn more money than one who is easy-going. The second feature is that you pay for results, not hours worked. The manager agrees to perform the duties listed in the schedule no matter how long it takes. This said, the manager has to be on site often enough to deal with members’ concerns and perform other duties. The board and the manager can agree on fixed hours for this purpose, at no extra cost to the co‑op.
Keep reading and you’ll see that the co-op also has some duties. Of course you have to pay the manager’s fee on time, as agreed. But your board must also be efficient about approving new members and dealing with member arrears.
An annual review of your manager’s performance is your board’s chance to acknowledge good service and sort out any problems. The Agency has a form that should help you evaluate your manager’s service. Just follow the steps it lists. As you’ll see, your board has three key questions to answer:
- “Did the work listed in the contract get done?”
- “Was the work done on time?” and
- “If not, how can we fix the problem?”
Management companies on the Agency’s Vendor-of-Record list are required to use this service agreement, which is also suitable for any co-op operating under a federal program in any province. A co‑op that intends to choose a manager by calling tenders or issuing an RFP must decide in advance whether the winning company will be offered this or another contract, which it then includes in the tender package.
However, if your co-op comes under the Ontario Housing Services Act, the model service contract published by CHF Canada’s Ontario Region will be more suitable.