The order is the whole thing: read the current contract for the notice it requires, line up the replacement, and only then give written notice. Never fire first. Boards put up with poor service far longer than they should because switching feels risky — the pool stays a little green, the grass gets cut a little late, and living with it seems easier than the alternative. Done in the right order, a switch is far less disruptive than the problem you have been living with.
First, decide if it's a switch or a conversation
Before you start a search, be honest about whether the problem is fixable. Some problems clear up after one direct conversation and a written list of expectations. A new team that needs direction, or a gap in communication. Others are patterns that will not change. Chronic missed visits, lapsed insurance, safety shortcuts, a company that will not return calls. If you have already raised concerns in writing and nothing improved, it is a switch. Document the problems either way. You will want that record.
Read your current contract before you do anything
The contract dictates how you can leave and how much notice you owe. Find out:
- Notice period. Find the exact number of days your agreement requires, and what starts the clock. In most agreements it is written notice, not a phone call.
- Termination terms: Can you end for cause (non-performance, lapsed insurance) or only at renewal?
- Auto-renewal date: If the contract renews automatically, missing the cancellation window can lock you in another full term.
- Final obligations: Outstanding balances, return of gate remotes or keys, equipment that belongs to the association.
Note the exact dates. Most switches that go wrong go wrong at the notice deadline rather than at the new company: the board missed the window and got locked in for another term.
Line up the new company before you fire the old one
This is the most important rule in the whole piece: never end the current agreement until the replacement is signed and ready to start. That overlap is what protects you from a gap in service. Run a proper proposal process first, with a written scope, three qualified companies, and proposals you can read side by side, then get the new agreement signed with a start date before you give notice to the company you have.
The exception is a genuine emergency: a company whose insurance has lapsed or that has created a safety hazard. There, you may need to stop the work immediately and bridge the gap, even briefly, because the risk of continuing outweighs the inconvenience.
Time the handoff around your calendar
Transitions are easiest during the slow season. Switching a pool company in the off-months or a landscaper in winter gives the new team time to learn the property before peak demand. If you can't wait, aim for a clean break between service cycles rather than mid-week, so responsibility for any given visit is unambiguous.
Give written notice, and keep it professional
Notify the outgoing company in writing, following your contract exactly: the termination date, the notice period, and any required details. Keep the tone factual, not personal, even if the relationship soured. You may cross paths again, and a professional exit protects the association's reputation. Confirm what it owes you: final invoice, keys, remotes, access codes, and any records or logs that belong to the community.
Manage the transfer of access and knowledge
Companies accumulate practical knowledge and physical access. Before the old company leaves, collect:
- Keys, gate remotes, fobs, and access codes (and change the codes the old team knew)
- Equipment or supplies owned by the association
- Service records, chemical logs, and maintenance history
- Any warranties or manufacturer relationships tied to installed equipment
Give the new company a walk of the property, the written scope, and the quirks. The irrigation zone that runs long, the pump that needs watching. A good handover prevents the learning curve residents blame on the switch itself.
Tell residents what's happening
Put a short, plain notice in the newsletter or the portal. "Beginning [date], [new company] will handle landscaping. You may see a new team." That prevents a wave of "who are these people on the property" emails. You do not need to air the reasons for the change. You just need residents to expect the new faces.
Watch the first month closely
Set expectations with the new company and check the early visits against the scope. A quick note when something is off, early, sets the tone for the whole relationship. Most companies want to prove themselves at the start. That is the moment to set the standard.
Where VendoRFP fits
The slow part of switching is the verification: confirming a replacement company is registered, licensed and insured before you cut ties with the company you have. On VendoRFP that work is already on file. General liability, workers' compensation, and the credential that company's trade requires are collected and verified, and stored with their expiration dates. Insurance gets a 30-day renewal window. A trade credential gets none, because a certificate past its date has stopped certifying anything, and once a window closes that vendor cannot propose for or be awarded new work until the document is current again.
So the changeover has a shape. Your board reopens the scope, reads what comes back, and can be under contract with a replacement in as little as 10 days at no additional cost — contracting with that company directly. Ending the agreement with the outgoing company is still governed by your association's own contract with them. That is the notice clause you read in step two. Visit records and each vendor's own invoices stay in one view across the handover, so the incoming company inherits the community's history instead of starting a fresh folder.
Switching is mostly a sequencing problem, and VendoRFP is where the sequence lives. The work goes up once, local companies propose against it, and your board picks the proposal it wants. What gets signed is a contract between your community and that vendor. Three documents have to be current before that vendor can propose: general liability, workers' compensation, and the credential its trade requires. A person here verifies each certificate against the limits your community set, so the incoming company clears the same bar the outgoing one did. You get one invoice per company, in that company's own name, and all of them sit beside the visit records.
Switching well comes down to the order: decide whether to fix or replace, read the contract, sign the new company, and only then give notice. Follow that sequence and residents will barely notice it happened.