Switching Property Managers? We Make the Transition Seamless.

Yes. California law does not require a lease to expire before you change management companies. Your tenants have a lease with you, the owner — not with the management company. We handle the tenant notification letter and coordinate the handoff so residents experience no disruption to their payment routine or maintenance access. The transition typically completes within 2–3 weeks regardless of where you are in a lease cycle.

Tenants receive a written notice introducing Lifetime PM as their new management company, updated payment instructions, and new emergency contact information. Their lease terms, rent amount, and security deposit rights remain completely unchanged. We make the transition intentionally smooth — the last thing we want is a tenant spooked into breaking their lease over a management change. Most tenants don't notice any difference except that maintenance responses get faster.

No setup fee, no cancellation fee, no onboarding charge. We believe fee-heavy transitions are a predatory practice. You pay our standard management fee (8% of monthly collected rent) once a tenant is in place and rent is flowing — nothing before that. If you're currently stuck with a manager who charges cancellation fees, we can help you understand your agreement and plan the cleanest exit.

Most transitions complete in 10–21 days from signed management agreement. The timeline depends mainly on how responsive your current manager is when transferring documents and security deposit funds. We set expectations upfront, send the document request on your behalf, and follow up directly. Occupied properties with cooperative outgoing managers are typically live in our system within two weeks.

You'll need your current lease agreement, move-in inspection report (if one exists), security deposit account statement, tenant contact information, maintenance history, any open vendor invoices, and your property's insurance certificate. We send a checklist at onboarding and coordinate document retrieval from your outgoing manager so you're not chasing paperwork alone. Under California law, security deposit funds must be transferred to us within a reasonable period — we document this clearly to protect you.

This happens. We've been through uncooperative transitions before and know the levers to pull. Your management agreement is a contract between you and the current company — you have the right to terminate it per its notice provisions. We advise on the proper notice letter, help you request records in writing (which creates a paper trail), and if necessary, provide guidance on California DRE complaint procedures. Security deposits belong to your tenants, not the manager — their failure to transfer them exposes them to liability, which tends to accelerate cooperation.