UK - Tenancy Deposit Scheme - what is the exact process of return?

Question

I moved out of the property I rented at the end of June. Same day I asked for my deposit back. Letting agency returned with the End Of Tenancy Report listing all defects they found on the 7th of July. I was in the process of moving abroad at that time (to say Covid complicated things a bit would be an understatement of epic proportions), so I missed their reply. I also forgot about it: my sickness, my wife's pregnancy, stresses with moving and Covid etc - i remembered about it in November. So i checked my emails and found the reply. I contested their findings (they attached quote for renovation of the whole property to the tune of GBP 5000, nearly quadruple of the deposit of GBP 1500, and I could not make out what exactly it said), made my offer of what I would pay to cover the costs and I waited for reply. They came back today and they said that I forfeited the deposit as I failed to reply within the statutory period of 3 months.

I can't find that requirement anywhere in the online resources I could find. I mean - nowhere it says there is a time limit for negotiations. No matter wher I look. No page, including .gov site, has a link to the law, so maybe it's in some obscure section of some act or something? I seem to fail to find it in the actual law that pertains to (The Housing Act??? Not sure of even that).

Is this time limit the actual case or am I being scammed out of my deposit? They tried already - I ended the rent agreement early because they failed to maintain property and they tried to condition their agreement to early termination on my forfeiting the deposit. I refused, and later found out their demand was flat out illegal. So I would not be surprised.

Deposit was held under the TDS scheme and I have the relevant paperwork.

Answer 1

Presumably, the landlord is referring to the TDS rules, which include this at para 3.20:

No application for ADR [alternative dispute resolution] may be submitted to TDS later than 3 months after the end of the tenancy. If no claim for ADR has been submitted within 3 months after the end of the tenancy, the parties will need to negotiate a settlement or use some other means of resolving their dispute (for example, court proceedings). https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/TDS-Rules-for-the-Independent-Resolution-of-Tenancy-Deposit-Disputes.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjrtPDCso_uAhUFSxoKHVpVBXEQFjAMegQIHxAB&usg=AOvVaw0KdTwWi6CJerHVQSvCMmJ2

However, it depends on which of the two schemes your deposit is in as the TDS website includes this:

How long do I have to raise a dispute?

In TDS Insured, you must raise your dispute within 3 months from the lawful end of the tenancy. Disputes received after this time will be rejected unless there are very good reasons.

In TDS Custodial, there is no time limit after the end of the tenancy to start the repayment process, but once it has been started by either party there are strict deadlines which each party must meet. https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/learn-more/information-tds-lounge/faqs/?q=How+long+do+I+have+to+raise+a+dispute%3F

The TSD website also has this information:

If there is a dispute, what happens to the deposit?

If all parties do not agree to how the deposit should be divided, our dispute resolution team will try to help both parties come to an agreement. If an agreement can still not be reached, an adjudicator will decide how the deposit should be split. All parties must provide evidence to support their claim of how the deposit should be divided. The adjudicator will issue a decision based on the evidence received within 28 days after the deadline for submitting evidence. https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/how-do-i-get-my-deposit-back/