A property management agreement should tell you what the brokerage will do, what it can authorize without contacting you, how it will be paid and how the relationship can end. Read those provisions together. A low headline fee is difficult to evaluate if the agreement leaves repair approvals, extra charges or access to records unclear. For a Port Moody rental owner, the agreement is where a promising service conversation becomes an operating arrangement. The aim is to leave the signing meeting knowing which decisions you have delegated and which still need your attention.
Read the agreement as an operating document
A property management contract is between the owner and the brokerage providing management services. It is different from the tenancy agreement between landlord and tenant. It is also different from a strata management contract, which concerns services for the strata corporation.
This matters when you own a condo. Your rental manager and the building’s strata manager may need to communicate, but hiring one does not give that person the other’s role or authority.
If you are still comparing firms, Axford’s guide to choosing a property management company addresses that earlier decision. Once you have a proposed agreement, shift from general assurances to the wording that will govern your own property.
Confirm the required foundation
BCFSA’s consumer guide to service agreements identifies the information a rental property management agreement must contain. It covers the parties and property, commencement and end dates, service description, remuneration, termination circumstances, delegated authority, reporting and records.
Check the legal owner’s name, the brokerage identity and the property address before reviewing the more complicated clauses. If ownership is shared or held through a company, establish who is authorized to give instructions and sign. Do not leave the manager to resolve conflicting directions after work has started.
The requirements are provincial. There is no separate Port Moody property management contract regime. The local value comes from making the agreement fit the actual rental: a condo, a townhouse and a detached home may involve different access arrangements, maintenance responsibilities and building contacts.
Make the service description specific enough to use
Read the service schedule alongside the main agreement. Does it cover tenant placement only, ongoing management, or both? Identify what happens when a tenant reports a repair, a rent payment is missing or the home becomes vacant.
Look for a clear answer to who handles the task and whether it carries an additional fee. Useful items to clarify include inspections, advertising, lease preparation, tenant communications, contractor coordination and dispute-related work. These are review questions, not a claim that every management package includes them.
Compare the written proposal with Axford’s published residential management services, then ask for the scope offered for your property. A website description helps start the discussion; the signed agreement should record what you are actually engaging the brokerage to provide.
Promises made during a call deserve the same attention. If an inspection frequency or reporting arrangement materially affects your decision, ask for it to be documented rather than relying on a remembered conversation.
Follow the money from fee calculation to owner payment
The remuneration clause should explain both the amount and when it is payable. If a percentage is used, identify what it is calculated on. Rent charged, rent collected and a minimum monthly charge can produce different outcomes.
Review the treatment of vacancy, tenant placement, renewals, inspections, maintenance administration and termination. Establish which charges apply, which do not and what requires further approval. Ask whether quoted amounts include applicable taxes; do not infer the answer from the headline rate.
Then ask how expenses, retained funds and the owner’s payment are reported. A reserve held for upcoming repairs is not the same thing as a fee earned by the brokerage. You should be able to trace a charge to the agreement and a payment to a supporting record.
This is a contract review, not a search for a supposedly standard fee. Axford’s questions to ask before hiring a manager can help prepare the conversation, while the agreement should supply the property-specific answers.
Find the limits on spending and signing authority
BCFSA’s rental management agreement checklist calls for the scope of authority to make payments and enter contracts on the owner’s behalf. This is one of the most consequential parts of the document.
Routine work and owner approval
If the agreement sets a spending limit, establish how it operates. Is it per incident, invoice or project? Does it include taxes and service charges? Who approves a revised estimate when the initial work reveals a larger problem?
Ask how approval is requested and recorded. An email process may be perfectly workable, but someone needs to monitor the address and know what happens if the owner is unavailable. A limit without a response process can delay a decision rather than control it.
Urgent work and unavailable owners
Discuss urgent repairs separately. Clarify the authority available when delay could worsen damage, the contact attempts expected and the documentation provided afterwards. An approval limit in an owner–manager contract does not remove duties owed to tenants under applicable law.
There is no universal repair allowance established by this article. The appropriate wording depends on the proposed service, the property and the owner’s circumstances. Obtain legal advice if the authority or liability provisions are unclear.
Specify the records you expect to receive
Reporting should be practical, not just described as “regular.” Identify the schedule, the information supplied and how you can obtain supporting invoices or tenancy documents. Also ask how records remain accessible if a staff member changes or the relationship ends.
Confirm how security and pet damage deposits will be handled, who maintains the records and how funds are accounted for. BCFSA includes deposit treatment in its additional-content checklist. A management agreement does not replace the tenancy rules governing those deposits.
For a Port Moody strata property, clarify who receives strata correspondence, forwards notices and coordinates access or repair questions. Avoid treating “liaise with strata” as permission to approve work outside the authority actually granted.
Read the exit terms before the relationship starts
Review the term, renewal mechanism and termination provisions together. Check the circumstances in which either party may end the agreement, the required notice, any charges and obligations that continue afterwards.
Ask how the file and funds will be handed over: tenancy documents, keys, open repair matters, account balances and a final statement all need an agreed process. If you are replacing a manager, Axford’s management transition guide provides background on organizing the handover. Your signed terms and current legal advice should govern the termination itself.
Before signing, make a short unresolved-items list:
- Which service or charge still needs a written explanation?
- Which decisions remain with you, and who acts if you are unavailable?
- Where are the reporting and record-access arrangements documented?
- What must happen to end the agreement and transfer the file?
- Have promised changes been incorporated into the final version and attachments?
Keep the completed agreement and its schedules together. A clear contract should reduce the need to reconstruct what everyone intended months later.
Frequently Asked Questions About Property Management Agreements
Does tenant placement automatically include ongoing management?
No. They are different service scopes. The agreement should say what happens after the tenant moves in and which ongoing tasks, if any, the brokerage has accepted.
Is there a standard repair-spending limit for every owner?
Do not assume one. Review the limit and approval process in the proposed agreement, including urgent-work exceptions. Ask the brokerage to explain how the wording would work for your property.
Can the manager change the rent just because I request it?
An owner’s instructions or delegated authority cannot override applicable tenancy law. Discuss who handles lawful rent reviews and notices, but distinguish that administrative role from an unrestricted power to change tenancy terms.
Will the strata manager handle my tenant’s day-to-day concerns?
Strata management and individual rental management are different roles. Clarify which concerns go to each contact and who follows up on issues involving both the unit and the building.
What if the agreement differs from the proposal I received?
Raise the difference before signing and request a consistent final document, including its schedules. If the legal effect remains uncertain, obtain independent advice rather than relying on an informal assurance.
Bring the agreement into the management conversation
If you are considering property management for a Port Moody rental, ask Axford to walk through the proposed agreement with your property and availability in mind. A useful discussion should leave you clear about the service, the authority you are granting and the decisions you will continue to make.
Information note: Reviewed against BCFSA and BC tenancy sources on October 14, 2026. This article is general information, not legal advice or a description of an unreviewed Axford contract. Review the actual agreement and obtain independent advice where needed.