£13000 in debt and not the only landlord?

Sadly you won't be the first or the last to be scammed this way. Currently anybody can set up as a letting agent without qualifications.
To operate as an agent they should have had a client money account which is ring fenced to prevent it being seized by the bank, professional indemnity insurance, client money protection insurance, and a property redress scheme membership.
Of course rogue agents tend not to have any of these. And the other thing is that the tenants deposit is still the landlords responsibility.
Other than finding the individual concerned and getting a CCJ against them
( difficult if it's a Ltd Co and goes belly up) then there's not much of a chance of getting your money back I'm afraid.
A lot of people in your position tend to start a local Facebook page, get local press coverage, and work together to find them and bung in some money to pay for a local solicitor to take them to court- if it's worth it.

This is one of many dangers with Rent to Rent. Don't do it.

The prs is full of catch merchants , unfortunately you have been caught , wouldn't bother with chasing it , long gone now ,you will only get thousands in legal fees, bite the bullet and move on , unless you actually know where they are and you know they actually own assets.

It appears to me to be one big fraud. So report to Police. As multiple landlords involved and no money ever paid, it shows deception / dishonesty on the part of the agent. Plus the fact he’s done a runner - all shows it was always just a scam. Get together with other landlords and go to Police being ready to insist it is a crime report you are making.

You are another victim of the Rent to Rent scam. There are loads of people out there teaching people how to make money using other people's property.
Just over 2 years ago I fell victim to a rogue named Raja Johal (Maynard Brown Limited) who claimed he was a social housing expert. The police didn't care. The courts gave me a judgement but haven't helped with enforcing it. I know where the scammer lives. I've outed him on social media. I'm about to redouble my efforts to get my money back by causing him and his family trouble. Rent to rent is a scam and should be investigated by the FCA. Property agents should be licensed and regulated.

Reply to the comment left by John Dace at 22/12/2023 - 10:13
I reported my case to Action Fraud. They passed my case to Derbyshire Police. It was then handled by West Midlands Police because the scammer lives in their area.
I gave the Police lots of evidence but they didn't bring the scammer in for questioning. I took civil action only to find that I then had to enforce the judgement myself. West Midlands Police are currently facing criticism for not helping people with crimes against them, such as fraud. Rent to rent is a scamm. There are loads of people on line offering expensive courses and mentoring to help people make money from other people's property. Their disciples are under pressure to succeed so they don't care how they treat people whose property they sublet. It's disgraceful.

Reply to the comment left by John Dace at 22/12/2023 - 10:13
Good luck with going to the police. Fraud unless corporate, is rarely investigated. I went to West Midlands Police. They dragged their heels and didn't investigate despite having lots of evidence passed to them. West Midlands Police or currently in speical measures for failing to respond to reports of crime by individuals. It's disgraceful.
If you go to the civil court you will get a judgement but then you will face the problem of enforcing it. These scammers set up sham companies that often make directors / officers free of any liability. It's all part of the teaching they receive from the gurus who run the get rich from property courses and provide expensive mentoring to their disciples.

Reply to the comment left by Michael Booth at 22/12/2023 - 06:16
... and you can assert some 'pressure'!

My builder on a self-build some years ago went bust. He told all his subs I hadn't paid him, but I had proof. The ground workers visited his home... and everyone got paid!

Reply to the comment left by Fed Up Landlord at 21/12/2023 - 11:45
Fellow landlords, why dont the courts in England convict people like this and Raja Johal (Maynard Brown Limited) for "engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct" and "obtaining financial advantage by deception" like they do in in my home country of Australia? Fraud seems to be alot more common and go unpunished in England, which is why people will continue to do it i suppose.
ref: https://thenaysayer.net/rick-otton/

I’m sorry I don’t understand OPs statement - “I gave my home to a rental agent” and “I am trying to get my home back”. Why would anyone hand over their registered Title to their home to an agent ? Surely the OP is still registered at Land Registry as the property owner even though the rogue agent has run off with rental income.

Others responded it’s Rent to Rent.
So surely that’s unlawful to use someone else’s rented out property asset and rent it themselves out to make money. Isn’t that subletting ?