How to change property manager without losing your community's history

Yes. Unless the bylaws say otherwise, the community's officers are appointed for one year, but "those appointed may be removed from office before their term expires by resolution of the owners' meeting, called in extraordinary session" (art. 13.7).

1. Step 1

   Call the owners' meeting

   To dismiss the property manager before their term ends, the law requires an owners' meeting called in extraordinary session (art. 13.7). The meeting is held whenever the president sees fit or when requested by a quarter of the owners or by a number of them representing at least 25% of the shares (art. 16.1). It is called by the president or, failing that, by those who promoted the meeting (art. 16.2). There is no fixed notice period for extraordinary meetings: notice is given as far in advance "as possible so that it can come to the attention of all interested parties" (art. 16.3).

2. Step 2

   Vote on the dismissal and the new appointment

   Appointing and removing the property manager is a matter for the owners' meeting (art. 14.a). As art. 17 sets no special majority for it, the general rule of art. 17.7 applies: on first call, a majority of all owners that also represents a majority of the shares; on second call, a majority of those attending, provided it represents more than half of the value of the shares of those present.

3. Step 3

   Choose who takes on the post

   The post can be held by any owner or by a natural person with sufficient, legally recognised professional qualifications (art. 13.6). If nobody is appointed separately, the duties of property manager and secretary are carried out by the president (art. 13.5). Unless the bylaws say otherwise, the appointment is for one year (art. 13.7).

4. Step 4

   Put it in writing in the minutes

   Resolutions are recorded in the minutes book (libro de actas) certified by the Land Registrar (Registrador de la Propiedad) (art. 19.1). The minutes are closed with the signatures of the president and the secretary at the end of the meeting or within the following ten calendar days (art. 19.3).

5. Step 5

   Get the documentation back

   The property manager keeps "the community's documentation available to the owners" (art. 20.e), and the secretary keeps the minutes books and retains for five years the notices of meetings, communications, proxies and other relevant meeting documents (art. 19.4). That documentation belongs to the community.

The documentation belongs to the community, but in practice it usually sits in the office and the software of whoever manages it. When they leave, the community depends on what they hand over, and the new property manager starts from scratch.