Ongoing battle with landlord (well, estate agent) re washing

Agree OP that your contract suggests otherwise. It's quite clear you can only dry washing in places where it won't cause condensation so the outside seems sensible. I would ask them for specifics of where the issue has come from.

Tbh I would turn every conversation back to the mould inside your flat and condensation issues.

If you do WANT to move you definitely have a good case given the mould. Also renters rights bill in the UK is coming in soon and you'll be able to give notice.

Are you in the UK though? I can't imagine washing drying outside right now?

Yup.
Write to them, quoting that and asking for their written instructions re drying your clothes inside, confirmation that they are formally instructing you to do the opposite of what it says in your lease, plus their written confirmation that you will not be held liable for any issues that may arise as a result of drying clothes inside.

My guess is they will back down

I believe it is standard in apartments or flats if there is an accessible area for drying on the property, a communal area, no washing on the balconies.
It looks awful to be honest when everyone has their balcony looking like a laundromat.
Can you put up a trellis? When I lived in an apartment it was a strict no no, no matter what floor you were on.

One solution is to wash clothes at home, take to a laundrette to dry. Or wash & dry at laundrette.
Or
If the laundrette is manned; get a service wash, where you drop the clothes off & they come back done.

A good sized dehumidifier (16 litres and above) will dry your laundry and sort out the damp. These days they run for as little as 6p an hour. I dry my clothes in the bathroom overnight which has the added benefit of drying out the bathroom and adding heat to the room. The washing will dry in 4 to 5 hours. During the day I leave all the doors open upstairs, put the dehumidifier on the landing and it cycles on and off as required. Once it has moisture levels under control, the dehumudifier only runs for short periods of time so it's not as expensive as it may sound. It's certainly going to work out cheaper than opening windows to air the place and letting all the heat out!

It's really not nice to see washing hanging outside the front door is it. Let's not lower standards.

If you don't have a discrete place out the back to hang your laundry then buy a dehumidifier. They cost about £150 for a good one. They dry the air so the home is warmer and they dry the clothes. They are very cheap to run.

It's quite common that drying washing outside is prohibited in the lease. You're likely to find this is the case if you buy a leasehold flat also.

Your contract is clear that you can only hang washing in the designated drying area ( at the back) . Your options are tumble dryer launderette in the winter and hang at the back in summer.
I would buy a dehumidifier anyway . I would ask them to put safety / security catches on the windows . You need to open the windows more than you are doing at the moment . Ask for a new bathroom extractor too.

Just advise them that until they sort out your mould problem you won’t be doing anything, and. It’s not sorted in the next two weeks you will be reporting it to the local council and seeking help from them to force the landlord to do something

Take it to a laundrette and get it tumble drie

My owned house has a shared front drive and parking, the deeds say you can not do certain things. One is drying washing outside the front. As well as parking a caravan and selling anything from the front. I imagine the flat has similar deeds.
Other people might be doing the same.
I am a tenant as I dont live in my house and also a landlord of ahosue house.
I think you need to get onto them about the mould, you can report to the council if they dont fix it.
Can you fit a tumble dryer or request tbe landlord installs a washer dryer?
As a landlord, I have paid for dehumidifiers for my tenant as there was a leak which caused some mould. I basically ordered them in amazon, delivered next day. Then got someone to come and fix the leak that week. Your landlord is a arse. If they dont fix it then can you move?

No, it’s telling you the only place you can dry it is the designated drying area that you have at the back. The other tenants doing it is not relevant, just because they are doing it is not a reason for other
people to do it. The washing will still dry better out the back as it does not need direct sunlight, the breeze will still dry it and we are heading for spring when it will dry even better. However if you’re just not happy using the designated area then you need to buy an electric dehumidifier. There’s no other option.

Yes I would take this to be the opposite of what they’ve said (not sure about “around” - but drying washing outside “around” the property wouldn’t cause any damage). If you were drying washing inside I can guarantee most landlords would tell you to put it outside. I would send them that clause and say that washing will cause no more damage than rain, then continue to dry it outside. Highly doubt they will kick you out over a few socks etc. if they are not interested in your indoor mould

Otherwise save up for a cheap vented/condensing dryer, perhaps a second hand one (they sell them here in big reclaim warehouses) and just be done with it and move as soon as you can.

You need to chase your landlord/agent about a new extractor fan and maybe window limiters
Not the property/leasehold management company or whoever that is
Or install yourself the limiters they're not expensive or hard to do and can be removed anyway
Get an electric clothes horse or a proper £100ish dehumidifier that has a washing drying mode
Every window open wide every few hours for a blast of air and to get the damp air out. I'd leave the bedroom one open at night personally.
Or just set up a clothes horse outside where your neighbours do. It's effort yes but in the summer not too big a deal to take a folding clothes horse out and a basket of washing

Check with your local council as they may have a department that helps private renters to get repairs done. We used our councils department years ago and the repairs were done within a couple of months.

You could also contact shelter in regards to the laundry issues.

To be fair the sun doesn’t reach my washing line either but it still dries because the breeze dries it out.

Well yeah, because everyone can just move. We’ve all got a months rent up front, deposit, references and can find a place just like that. Great! Just move OP. 🙄

I’m a landlord and I would much rather tenants dried washing outside! But as it’s a flat there maybe a clause in the lease (freeholder to landlord not your tenancy agreement) banning it as I can’t think why else they would want to do that! They should clarify the reason with you and assuming you’ve been a decent tenant up to date on rent and taking care of the property which by the sounds of things you are then a good landlord should really provide the dehumidifier although they are not legal obliged it would just be the right thing to do in my mind.

Get a heavy duty plug in dehumidifier. They do cost about £100 for a decent one, but they are extremely effective and will last years. You pour water out of the tray to empty it, it extracts huge amounts quickly and will help a lot with the damp issue as well as speeding up drying clothes.
We dont have any damp issues and still wouldnt be without it, if a room ever gets a bit of condensation I run it in that room and it stops it for a while again.

Many properties have regulations about washing. We are not allowed to dry washing out the front, it's in the covenants on the property.

I would be rather more concerned with the mould issue. And probably just put the washing outside anyway or ask for a tumble dryer to be installed.

My lease has a clause prohibiting laundry outside.

@blackswan29 the laundry is the least of your worries if you have damp and mould setting in.

I would respond that you are happy to dry laundry indoors as soon as the damp and mould remedial work has been completed and window restricters fitted to keep the property secure. I would follow the escalation steps for this issue - basically fight fire with fire.

Take your washing to a launderette to wash and dry it there. DH and I used to do this in our first flat.