KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE You can read all of our articles on our website. Having trouble getting our emails? Change your spam controls and whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ****************************** agent change does not require new contract; no service to a new owner January 28, 2026 ********************** managing agent change does not require new contract; no service to a new owner without assignment or contract ********************** Ken, I have a question regarding a fire alarm customer of ours. I just received a phone call from the customer who signed our contract for the monitoring for a property that he wanted to be taken off the call list as they no longer manage the property since November of 2025. I am trying to figure out the best way to handle this situation as the new owner has not contacted us. The old owner provided me the contact information for the new owner, and I called and left a message. Are we still supposed to be monitoring this location since there is no actual contract signed by the new owners? Please advise. Thank you, Vanessa *************************** Response *************************** Absolutely not. You have no contract with the new owner if your subscriber sold the building to another. You should contact the new owner, directly or through its new agent, to advise that your services will terminate in 2 days at a specific time, and then make sure you do terminate service. If this is a fire alarm system, contact the AHJ in advance to let the AHJ know you are terminating. You can be nice and remind the property owner that it will need Fire Watch as of the minute you terminate service. And no, you are NOT WILLING to wait. Your contract must be signed, even if month to month. In lieu of a new contract the old subscriber [who sold the building] and the new owner can sign your: Assignment and Assumption Agreement [This agreement to be used when alarm co is permitting subscriber to assign the contract to a new entity or person. Contains assignment, assumption and other provisions in connection therewith]. You can encourage action and cooperation from your existing subscriber by letting them know you intend to hold it to the contract and refer them to K&K Collection Department; then you should do that. But changing management company doesn't mean the owner changed; your contract is with the owner. You refer to the managing agent as your customer; it is not. The Managing Agent or Property Manager is an agent of the owner; this is a simple agent-principal relationship. Your real customer is the owner, and if you want confirmation just try suing the agent, who will defend and hide behind the agency cloak. The only change to this answer is if the Agent is your subscriber, which means the Agent took on direct responsibility to contract with you and be responsible to you. Another way the agent is liable is if the agent is acting for a "non-existent" entity [a corporation that has not in fact been formed] or an "undisclosed" entity, which means you had no idea that you were dealing with an agent instead of the principal. So if the managing agent changes that doesn't matter for your contract. A new managing agent can't require anything new from you, you already have a contract with your subscriber. I know you want to stay on the good side of the new managing agent because they have the potential to refer you to other property owners, or not renew your contract with an existing subscriber when your contract expires. But that is a different consideration than legal liability. Join the Concierge Program and take advantage of the free half hour each month for contract review; when dealing with managing agents, property managers, who have their own "vendor" agreements, you do need advice of counsel to guide you through the risks in the vendor agreement. ********************* STANDARD FORMS Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304. *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at ww.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ******************** THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily ************************* Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth ****************************** Getting on our Email List / Email Articles archived: Many of you are forwarding these emails to friends or asking that others be added to the list. Sign up for our daily newsletter here: Sign Up. You can read articles and order alarm contracts on our web site www.alarmcontracts.com Sign up for emails from our Mail Chimp service: http://eepurl.com/i-Opgw ************************** Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC Attorneys at Law 200 Garden City Plaza Garden City, NY 11530 516 747 6700 x 301 ken@kirschenbaumesq.com www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
