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“Bond money doesn’t belong to agents,” warned Victoria’s director of consumer affairs.
A Melbourne agent has been fined $2,500 and slammed with a two-year industry ban after Consumer Affairs Victoria unearthed significant rental bond misuse.
Between September 2022 and March 2023, Christopher Paul Kontossis of Ivanhoe moved 26 electronic bond claims into separate bank accounts that were not linked to the legitimate claimants.
At the time, Kontossis was employed by Barry Plant Reservoir, which was unaware of his illegal actions and has now repaid the funds in full.
The total amount of bond money misdirected by Kontossis was $21,540.
The conduct came to the consumer watchdog’s attention when the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority raised the alarm about suspicious transactions.
In July 2024, Consumer Affairs Victoria commenced disciplinary proceedings against Kontossis at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), arguing that he had failed a fundamental requirement of his profession.
VCAT ruled that Kontossis “engaged in conduct that was unprofessional or detrimental to the reputation or interests of the industry, and was not a fit and proper person to hold an estate agent’s licence during the period he committed the offences”.
In addition to being fined $2,500, Kontossis had his real estate agent licence cancelled for five years, and was banned from working in the industry for two years.
Nicole Rich, director of Consumer Affairs Victoria, issued a strong reminder of agents’ professional obligations in the wake of the misconduct.
“Estate agents are placed in a position of trust when performing their duties. Having access to clients’ funds – whether buyers, sellers, renters or rental providers – brings with it great responsibility,” said Rich.
“Bond money doesn’t belong to agents – they can’t access it or use it for any purpose other than overseeing it as required in transactions between renters and rental providers.”
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