DPS and return of deposit in full to landlord

Tenancy Deposits

I placed the tenants deposit in the DPS scheme at the start of the tenancy.

I have recently evicted the tenants using the correct procedure from the courts and a section 21 notice which awarded cost claim of £175 against the tenants.

The tenants outstanding rent is 1.5 times the deposit, in addition they breached a number of the AST conditions such as smoking when not permitted, using areas of the property which were prohibited and keeping a dog in the property which was also not allowed.

They caused considerable damage to the property which I have got photographic evidence of. They also changed the lock on the property without informing me the landlord and damaged the door beyond repair in doing so.

In trying to get the deposit back from the DPS the tenants simply reject every single proposal I make including placing some or all of the deposit within the dispute service. This is obviously very frustrating and the DPS are saying I cannot force the deposit into the dispute service.

Can you advise the simplest way of getting the deposit returned from the DPS please ?

Thanks

Michael