*****This bit can be tricky! Try to find an agent who will be prepared to guide you through this step, even though you are not in a postition to officially appoint him yet.*****

If your agent will not co-operate in your efforts to take control of your own management company (normally because he knows he is about to be sacked), you will have to ensure that you stay within the provisions of both company law and your own company's articles of association in order to successfully oust them.

10% of your company's members can "requisition" an EGM (extraordinary general meeting). So in a block of 20 flats (assuming one block = one management company), you need only two people to be able to force the meeting to be called.

The requisition should be delivered to the Company's registered office (in most cases this will be the agents address) and it must state the object of the meeting, in this case to remove XXXXX as a director and replace him with xxxxx.

Where there is a meeting held to remove a director, 28 days notice must be given (allow some for the post too) and the agent (acting as company secretary) has to give notice to all members, and the person who is to be removed.

At the same meeting, you will also wish to elect your own choice of directors. You must submit to the registered office prior to the meeting, both a nomination for a person by another member, and an acceptance from that person. There are timescales for this which will be detailed in your articles of association but typically they must be received between 21 and 3 days before the meeting.

Make sure plenty of people turn up to the meeting, as, if you do not have the required number attending (the "quorum" detailed in your articles), the meeting will be invalid.

Assuming your meeting went to plan your new directors may now fill out and sign their own forms 288a. they should also fill out and sign forms 288b to resign the agents director and company secretary and appoint a new company secretary (the new agent would be a good choice if you have already decided on one).

Now would also be a good time to change the registered address of the company to the new secretary's address using form 287.

All forms are available for download from Companies House