I forgot to say, in terms of legal costs, you need to do a cost/benefit analysis. We had a similar problem with a strata manager last year who didn’t want to terminate. We worked out that paying out the manager was going to cost considerably more than the legal fees, i.e. the legal fees were about $1500 and to pay out the manager would have been more than $6000.
Yes – you need to go to a lawyer, show them the agreement and tell them what the manager has said. The lawyer will tell you what your position is and what you can do. The first consultation is usually free.