A former letting agent has been censured over the handling of tenancy deposits following an investigation.

The probe, by Bristol City Council’s Private Housing Team, was into an agent in the city that stopped trading, owing some £90,000 to landlords and tenants.

Andrew Rhys Thickett, who owned and ran Robert Rhys (Lettings and Management), accepted he had not met required legal standards by failing to protect deposit money in a relevant government-approved scheme at his former business.

He has signed a legal undertaking promising no repeat of this at any future property management or letting business which he controlled.

The letting agency stopped trading in May 2018 owing landlords and tenants. According to the city council, the losses were mainly down to poor business practice.

There was also a failure to properly secure tenancy deposits, only some of which were subsequently returned.

The agreement, made under the terms of the 2002 Enterprise Act, means the council could bring legal action in the form of a court order should Thickett fail to comply with the undertaking, with imprisonment a possibility should he breach any order made.

While the authority says it understands he is no longer operating as a letting agent, the agreement also means he must inform Bristol City Council if he wants to work in the sector again.

Bristol City Council says in the same statement that it is currently actively auditing letting agents to make sure they are complying with new Client Money Protection laws requiring agents to protect clients’ money by holding it in a separate account.

Cllr Paul Smith, the Cabinet member for housing, says in the statement: “We will investigate any complaints of agents not being a member of an approved Client Money Protection Scheme. We will use our full range of legal powers to protect tenants and landlords from unscrupulous agents.”

Letting and managing agents have had to belong to a CMP scheme since last April but were given a year’s grace to set up separate client accounts. However, as EYE reported on Friday, agents have quietly been given an extra year to comply with that requirement and the new deadline is now April next year.

Bristol City Council is the lead enforcement authority for the Tenants Fees Act 2019 – which banned tenancy fees – for industry regulator NTSLEAT.

https://news.bristol.gov.uk/news/council-probe-draws-deposit-promise-from-former-city-letting-agent