How to Switch Property Managers in Florida Without Losing a Month of Rent

The steps below apply to any residential rental in Hillsborough and Pasco counties. They also cover what we need from your outgoing manager when a Tampa owner hands a property to BayTown.

1. Start with your own management agreement

The switch begins with the contract you already signed, not with the new manager. Read the notice section of your current agreement and follow it exactly: how notice must be given, how far ahead, and whether it must be in writing. Then send that notice in writing yourself, with a clear end date, and ask for written confirmation back.

In the same message, ask for a final accounting: rent collected, expenses paid, any owner funds held, and the date the file will be ready for handover. Confirmation in writing is what prevents an argument later about when the relationship actually ended.

• Follow the notice clause in your existing agreement, including how notice must be delivered
• Send notice in writing with a specific end date and ask for written confirmation
• Request a final statement of rent collected and expenses paid
• Ask what date the file, keys and records will be ready

2. Tell your tenant early, in plain language

Tenants care about two things during a switch: where rent goes and who to call when something breaks. Once your end date is set, put the change in writing to the tenant so they are not paying the old manager out of habit or calling a number nobody answers. Give the new payment instructions in writing and confirm the first payment date under the new arrangement.

In most cases the lease stays in place; the tenant simply pays rent to, and calls, the new manager. If the lease names the manager as a party, the new manager will tell you whether a short addendum is needed.

• Written notice to the tenant naming the new manager and the effective date
• New rent payment instructions in writing, with a clear first payment date
• New contact for maintenance requests and after-hours emergencies
• Lease stays in place in most cases; any addendum only if the lease names the manager

3. Deposits and records: confirm who holds what

Find out exactly who holds the deposit today and get a written accounting of every deposit held. Confirm in writing who will hold it after the switch, and make sure that accounting and the rent ledger reach the new manager before the next rent is due. Get the deposit records in a form you can keep, not a verbal number over the phone.

Pull the rest of the file at the same time: the signed lease and any addenda, the move-in condition report, inspection records, open work orders, paid repair invoices, appliance warranties, HOA or association contacts if they apply, and the current rent and balance. A new manager who has those on day one can answer a tenant's question instead of chasing it.

• Written accounting of security deposits held, per tenant
• Rent ledger and any outstanding balances or credits
• Signed lease, addenda and move-in condition report
• Open maintenance items, invoices and warranties

4. Keys, access and a written handover

Keys are where switches go sideways. Ask for a written inventory of every key, garage remote, mailbox key, gate code and lockbox, and who currently holds each one. If a vendor has a key, that vendor should be told who authorizes work from the handover date.

We treat a handover the same way we treat an owner leaving us: files, keys and the tenant relationship get handed over cleanly. That is the standard to ask for from whoever you are leaving, and it is what you should expect from whoever you hire.

• Written key and code inventory, including vendor-held keys
• Lockbox and garage remote return
• Vendors with keys told who authorizes work from the handover date
• Copies of everything, not originals only

5. What BayTown takes over once you hand it off

On the monthly side we handle tenant relations, rent collection with a statement every month, maintenance and repair coordination, scheduled inspections, and monthly reporting through a 24/7 owner portal, plus market analysis on your property. Emily Brown is the lead property manager and personally carries the properties she manages; she replies by text or email, usually the same day. Antonio Lombardo is co-founder and broker of record, works in the properties himself and handles builder-warranty and remediation questions.

If the property is vacant or the current tenant is leaving, leasing is handled separately: pricing from real comparable rentals, marketing the vacancy where renters look, showings and applications, financial checks and reference verification on every applicant, then the lease, move-in and keys. Leasing and renewals are separate one-time fees, and Emily explains those in your free quote rather than burying them in a brochure.

• Tenant relations and rent collection with a monthly statement
• Maintenance and repair coordination plus scheduled inspections
• Monthly reporting and a 24/7 owner portal
• Leasing support when a property is vacant, quoted separately

6. What it costs, and why there is no long-term contract

Our management fee is $149 per month, flat, whatever the rent brings in. It is never a percentage, and it is taken only from rent collected, so a vacant property pays no management fee. Leasing and renewals are separate one-time fees that Emily explains in the free quote.

There is no long-term contract. If you leave, your files, keys and the tenant relationship are handed over cleanly, which is the same thing you are asking your current manager for right now. Request your free quote and you get what the property should rent for, every fee in writing, and no obligation.

• $149 per month, flat, taken only from rent collected
• No management fee while the property is vacant
• No long-term contract
• Free quote includes a rental estimate and every fee in writing

7. A short checklist before you send notice

Line up the new manager before the old one is gone, so there is no window where nobody is collecting rent or answering a repair call. Confirm who will hold the deposit records, who the tenant pays next, and the exact date the keys change hands.

We manage rentals across Hillsborough and Pasco counties, including Tampa, Seminole Heights, Hyde Park, Westshore, Brandon, Valrico, Riverview, Lutz, Wesley Chapel, Land O' Lakes, Trinity and Odessa. If you are weighing a switch, request your free quote and we will walk your specific property through it.

• Notice sent and confirmed in writing
• New manager lined up before the end date
• Deposit accounting and ledger received
• Tenant told where rent goes and who to call
• Keys, codes and files inventoried

Related pages

• Request your free management quote
• What property management costs in Tampa
• How the $149 monthly fee works
• Meet Emily Brown and Antonio Lombardo
• Property management in Wesley Chapel
• See available rental properties

Last updated October 22, 2026