A former Bristol letting agent has admitted he failed to adequately protect tenants' deposit money.
A Bristol City Council investigation found that Andrew Thickett had not met required legal standards by failing to protect the deposit money.
The letting agent, who owned and ran Robert Rhys (Lettings and Management) Ltd, admitted this and signed a legal undertaking promising this would not happen again at any business which he controlled.
His letting agency stopped trading in May 2018, owing around £90,000 to landlords and tenants.
According to the council, the losses were mainly down to poor business practice and a failure to properly secure tenancy deposits, only some of which were later returned.
If Mr Thickett fails to comply with the legal undertaking, he could face further legal action or even imprisonment.
It is understood he no longer works as a letting agent.
Councillor Paul Smith, the cabinet member for housing, said. “We will investigate any complaints of agents not being a member of an approved Client Money Protection Scheme.
Find properties near you, powered by In Your Area:
"We will use our full range of legal powers to protect tenants and landlords from unscrupulous agents.“
