How to Remove a Condo Administrator, Step by Step

Can you remove a condo administrator? Yes. The one who appoints the administrator is the General Assembly of condo owners, and that same assembly can remove them, whether they are a neighbor or a professional company. To remove the condo administrator without the resolution falling apart, you need five things: document the problem (account statements, receipts, unanswered requests), call an assembly with the removal on the agenda, vote with the correct quorum, appoint a replacement in the same session, and demand the handover of books, accounts, and funds. If the administrator refuses to call a meeting or hand things over, in Mexico City the Procuraduría Social (PROSOC) steps in and, if money has been diverted, the criminal route is available. This guide uses Mexico City's Condominium Property Law (Ley de Propiedad en Condominio de Inmuebles de la CDMX) as its reference and tells you what to check if your condo is in another state.

When it makes sense to remove the administrator

In a building under a condominium property regime (régimen de propiedad en condominio), the administrator is an executor: they collect fees, pay vendors, look after the common areas, and report on the money. They are not the owner of the building or the boss of the neighbors. Among the powers that Mexico City's law gives the General Assembly (art. 33) is precisely to appoint and remove the administrator, whether an owner or a professional, and to set the bond (fianza) they must post.

That means the assembly does not need a court ruling or proof of a crime to replace them: a valid resolution is enough. Even so, you should have clear, documented reasons, because those are what persuade undecided neighbors and what protect you if the administrator challenges the vote. The most common grounds are:

• Fails to report on the money: doesn't provide account statements, doesn't show invoices, or the numbers don't match what was collected.
• Doesn't call assemblies, or calls them without an agenda so nobody can prepare questions.
• Unapproved spending: works, contracts, or increases in the maintenance fee that the assembly never voted on.
• Neglected maintenance: an elevator out of service for months, an uncleaned cistern, an expired insurance policy.
• Unequal treatment: chases some delinquent owners and forgives others, or uses the common areas for personal benefit.
• Mixing funds: collects into a personal account instead of an account in the condominium's name.

Before the assembly: build your case file

The removal is won before the meeting. A small group of owners, ideally together with the Oversight Committee (Comité de Vigilancia), should gather the information and circulate it in advance.

1. Request the information in writing

Ask the administrator, with a copy to the committee, for the account statements for the period, the bank statements for the condominium's account, the list of arrears by unit, the vendor contracts, and the minutes book (libro de actas). Deliver the letter in two copies and have them sign for receipt, or send it by email to the administration's official address. If they don't respond, that silence is itself evidence.

2. Cross-check the numbers

Multiply the fee by the number of units that are current and compare it with what the administrator claims to have received. Ask several neighbors for their payment receipts. Check whether the reserve fund exists in a separate account or only on paper. If you find large discrepancies, propose an outside audit at the same assembly, which is also within the assembly's powers.

3. Have a replacement ready

The most common mistake is removing the administrator without having anyone to appoint. The condo is left with nobody to collect fees or pay the electricity bill for the common areas, and undecided neighbors vote for "better the devil you know." Bring two or three quotes from professional administrators, or a willing owner, to the assembly, along with their proposed fees and bond.

4. Count the votes

Votes are weighted by each unit's undivided ownership share (indiviso), not one per head. Make a list with each unit, its percentage, whether it is current on fees (in Mexico City a delinquent owner keeps the right to speak but not to vote), and its likely position. That way you'll know whether you have enough and whom you still need to convince.

Step-by-step process to remove the administrator

With your file ready, the procedure follows the rules of any assembly, which we explain in detail in how a condo owners' assembly works. What changes here is that the administrator has an interest in making the meeting fail, so every formality counts.

Step 1: who calls the meeting

Don't wait for the administrator to call their own removal. In Mexico City, the Oversight Committee or a group of owners who can substantiate the call before PROSOC can also convene it: at least 20% in condominiums of 2 to 120 units, 15% for 121 to 500, and 10% for those with more than 501. Delinquent owners cannot call a meeting.

Step 2: an explicit agenda

The removal must appear on the agenda exactly as such, for example: "3. Report and accounting from the administration. 4. Removal of the administrator. 5. Appointment of the new administrator, fees, and bond. 6. Audit and handover." A resolution on a topic that wasn't on the agenda is the easiest way to get it challenged.

Step 3: give everyone advance notice

In Mexico City, seven calendar days before the first call for an ordinary assembly. Deliver the notice to each unit, post it in visible places, and keep dated photos. In the same document, set the three call times, with thirty minutes between each one.

Step 4: ask for an outside witness

For sensitive matters, Mexico City's law lets you request that a notary public (notario) or a PROSOC representative attend. For a removal it's worth it: it cuts down on arguments about who voted for what and gives the minutes a weight that's hard to dispute.

Step 5: vote and appoint in the same session

Once the assembly is convened with the quorum required for the applicable call (75% on the first, simple majority on the second, whoever is present on the third), present the case file, hear the administrator out, and vote on the removal. Immediately afterward, vote on the replacement, their fees, their bond, and the date of the handover. The chair of the assembly should not be the outgoing administrator.

Step 6: minutes, notification, and registration

The minutes must be signed by the chair, the secretary, and the tellers (escrutadores), with the attendance list attached. Notify the outgoing administrator of the removal in writing and give a copy to all owners. In Mexico City, the new administrator must register their appointment with PROSOC; without that registration they will have trouble opening accounts, collecting arrears, or representing the condominium.

The handover: books, bank accounts, and funds

Voting the removal is only half the job. The other half is making the outgoing administrator hand over everything that belongs to the condominium. The law obliges them to do so, and the assembly should set a specific date and place for the handover in the minutes.

Draw up a handover record (acta de entrega-recepción) signed by the outgoing administrator, the incoming one, and a member of the Oversight Committee, with this inventory:

• Minutes book and, if one exists, the owners' register.
• Account statements and bank statements for the entire period, with invoices and receipts.
• Bank account balance and reserve fund balance, plus the list of arrears by unit.
• Current contracts: security, cleaning, elevators, landscaping, building insurance.
• Keys, remotes, and codes for machine rooms, pumps, entrances, cameras, and payment portals.
• Constitutive deed (escritura constitutiva), internal regulations, plans, and equipment warranties.

The step most often forgotten: change the bank signatories the same day. Take the minutes to the bank with the new administrator and a committee member to revoke the outgoing administrator's signature. Until that's done, they can still dispose of the money. Also check that the building's insurance policy is still in force; if you don't know what it covers, our guide to condominium insurance will help you review it.

If the administrator refuses to leave or hand things over

It happens more often than you'd think: the administrator claims the assembly was illegal, keeps collecting fees, or simply doesn't hand anything over. Here is how to escalate, from fastest to heaviest:

1. Written demand signed by the new administrator and the committee, with a copy of the minutes and a deadline.
2. Notice to the owners that they should no longer pay the outgoing administrator and which account is the new one. This cuts off their cash flow.
3. PROSOC (in Mexico City): offers conciliation and arbitration in condominium disputes, and can call an assembly when the administrator or the committee refuses, at the request of at least 10% of the owners.
4. Civil lawsuit to demand delivery of documents and an accounting, and to claim damages. If they posted a bond, the condominium can enforce it.
5. Criminal complaint with the Fiscalía if money is missing. Withholding or disposing of other people's fees can amount to breach of trust (abuso de confianza) or fraud, depending on the case.

For the lawsuit and the complaint, the file you built before the assembly is the foundation. A lawyer with condominium experience can tell you which route makes sense; often the mere serious threat of a complaint speeds up the handover.

If your condo is not in Mexico City

Each state regulates the regime through its own condominium property law or through chapters of its Civil Code. The percentages needed to call a meeting, the advance notice, whether an oversight agency steps in, and where the administrator is registered all vary. What repeats across nearly the whole country is the underlying rule: the assembly appoints and the assembly removes.

To find out what applies in your case, check in this order: the condominium's constitutive deed (escritura constitutiva) (registered with the Registro Público de la Propiedad), the internal regulations, and your state's condominium law. If there is no local procuraduría, the conciliation route is usually a mediation center of the state judiciary before going to civil court.

And if you're about to buy, ask before signing who manages the building, since when, and whether there are open conflicts with the administration. A change of administrator in litigation can mean extraordinary fees to cover shortfalls. In our guide to buying a home in a condominium you'll find the list of documents to request, and in condos for sale and rent or apartments you can compare options. If you've already decided to move, estimate what the transaction will cost with the closing cost calculator (escrituración), or request a valuation of your property and list your property.

Frequently asked questions

Who can remove a condominium administrator?

Only the General Assembly of condo owners, which is the body that appoints them. Neither the Oversight Committee nor a group of neighbors can remove them on their own, but they can call the assembly that votes on the removal. In Mexico City, a group of owners can call the meeting by substantiating the call before PROSOC.

Do you need a serious cause to remove the administrator?

Not necessarily. The assembly can remove them with a valid resolution even if no crime was committed. Still, it's wise to document specific grounds such as failure to report on the money or unapproved spending, because they persuade the neighbors and protect the resolution if the administrator challenges it. If it's a company under contract, check the termination clause.

How many votes are needed to remove the administrator?

It depends on the call under which the assembly is convened. In Mexico City, 75% attendance is required on the first call, a simple majority on the second, and whoever is present on the third, and the resolution is adopted by a majority of votes weighted by undivided share. Delinquent owners do not vote on these matters.

What do I do if the removed administrator doesn't hand over the accounts?

Demand it in writing with a copy of the minutes, tell the owners to stop paying them, and change the bank signatories. If they still don't hand things over, in Mexico City go to PROSOC for conciliation or arbitration; after that, a civil lawsuit for an accounting and, if money is missing, a criminal complaint for breach of trust.

Can the administrator vote at the assembly that removes them?

If they are an owner who is current on fees, they vote with the undivided share of their own unit, but they cannot represent other owners with proxy letters at the General Assembly. If they are an outside professional administrator, they have no vote. In either case, it's best that they not chair the assembly.