Termination of Property Management Agent - Record Handover

[NY_Resident]

Hi all

I have just terminated the contract with my (incompetent) property letting/management company and have decided to manage my own residential rental properties directly.

This firm has managed my rental properties for 10+ years (why do long you may ask…..don’t go there!….though they did do an OK job for most of this time, and I was also living overseas so no good alternatives) and have managed all of the invoices for repairs etc throughout the years. I have always used their year-end rent/expense summaries to prepare my tax returns, pulled directly from their systems.

Now that our relationship is ending, I am thinking through what records I need them to pass back to me, including original invoices or electronic copies of same.

Does anybody have experience of what documentary evidence I would need to provide to Revenue in the event of a future audit? Would I need to produce copies of each repair bill, or would they rely on a rental summary of rent and expenses from a “reputable” letting/management company?

My default is to request copies of each and every invoice as part of the handover process as I suspect this is what Revenue would hold me to, but interested in folks experience with either Revenue audits or record handover exercises from property letting/mgmt companies.

Thanks all.

 

[NoRegretsCoyote]

What does your contract say?

Mine is based on a PRSA template and says:

subject to Data Protection regulations, [the agent] shall transfer all relevant records held
which are the property of the Client to the Client or a person nominated by the
Client, including the transfer of electronic records promptly and without delay
and in any event no later than 10 days after termination.

 

[NY_Resident]

Thanks @NoRegretsCoyote. That was a useful steer. As it happens, I also have a significant balance outstanding (in respect of recent repairs conducted), which is better leverage than any contract!!