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

OP is allowed to dry outside, just in a place not of her choosing.

We had the opposite once - didn't want us drying clothes inside (in the winter). You literally can't win?

Firstly, they are wrong to try to stop you from drying it outside, although, it's probably a clause from the leaseholder, I'd ignore it as it's better for the property for clothes to be dried outside. So they are BU for this.

But you are BU for not adequately ventilating the property. Trickle vents alone do not adequately ventilate a property, no wonder you have a mould & condensation problem. It doesn't matter that it's winter, rooms should be aired by opening windows for at least 10 mins per day, you could do this while getting ready for work in the morning. The flat must smell so stuffy and mouldy with the flat not being aired daily all year round, yuck.

I didn't vote as both parties here are being unreasonable.

Others have already said this but honestly get a big boy dehumidifier, the biggest you can manage. Run it all the time. Wash mould down with a diluted bleach solution. Complain about it - black mould kills.
they MUST fix the extractor and it needs to be a good one ideally that you can leave on all the time.
I used to live on a road where the way the houses were built in such a way that they were prone to mould. My neighbour had some sort of vent put in that ran through the whole flat and had a fan that sucked the air in and drew it out. I don’t know exactly how it worked but it did. So it shows it can be done if landlords are willing to invest in it.

I'd buy a small dehumidifier (Meaco is a good brand) and use it to dry your laundry inside. It'll dry better.

I had a problem with damp in the first property I rented, I raised the issue with the landlord and estate agents nothing was done. I had just come out of hospital after a major op and I had to get on my hands and knees to get it cleaned off and it ruined a lot of my belongings. After no contact from them I instantly raised it with environmental health maybe give them a go? You have evidence of trying to get it sorted and no luck so I’d say you’re going to get action from them. Hope it helps OP!!

I’m a landlord, I wouldn’t mind but the freeholder of my building would, and would revoke my leasehold interest in the flat if this was continued behaviour.

Given I bought that lease for £190k and still owe £100k on the mortgage, I would think my tenant was pretty unreasonable for costing me hundreds of thousands of pounds by breaching a lease they agreed to.

And I would absolutely evict the tenant if this happened, reform or no reform - as I wouldn’t own the property any more to continue to let it to them, and it would be a breach of the lease so it’s a fault eviction anyway.

Send photos of mould and email correspondence to council and they will serve them a 28 day notice to address the issue or take further action on your behalf even as a private tenant. If your tenancy agreement doesn’t state you can’t use outside to wash clothes then ignore them. They should be thankful you’re using preventative measures to reduce the issue of mould

Unless it’s in the contract they cannot enforce that . Maybe comply for a couple of months because there is no way he can evict you for that with the new reforms . If he what clothes drying inside he should pay for a tumble dryer and costs to run it imo

It will be in the terms of the Title deeds and the managing agent would be remiss in their duties not to make you aware of a breach which affects their client (the landlord). It’s a very common stipulation and Deeds often defy logic and common sense. They can’t discuss other properties but will have also written to them.

I would really advise getting a dehumidifier but I would also keep drying clothes outside and ignore them.

She can dry washing outside

What is it with people not reading the thread?

If it’s in your contract that you can’t dry washing outside then you can’t dry washing outside no matter what your justification.
Buy a decent dehumidifier or even a tumble dryer. Open all the windows every morning when you get up and close them again when you go out to work. I know it sounds bonkers but it has been proven to work in reducing or even eliminating damp and mould.

She doesn’t have to dry it inside though, she can dry it round the back where they said it’s fine

I'd call their bluff & reply saying your GP has insisted you DO NOT dry washing inside as this is causing your Asthma to worsen, with already having mould it's not good to add more moisture inside & the mould could be causing asthma attacks.

Oh I just read that you can but at the back. That seems fine, I can’t dry outside anywhere! I use a heated airer and dehumidifier

Same here, the management company say I can’t dry outside. I have a garden… but they won’t alter the lease (I have the only garden)

Buy a dehumidifier and put the heating on. There is only so much a landlord can do about mould. It's January, it's cold and incredibly wet. If you don't do the bare minimum, what is the landlord going to be able to do? Yes the heating bill is expensive, that's life.

What does it say in your tenancy agreement? Some stipulate to not have washing drying outside in the front of the property and things like that. If it says absolutely nothing about drying washing outside then I would tell the estate agent/landlord to jog on personally and remind them that you are not in breach of your contract.

New renter rights Bill comes in in may. All tenancies rolling contracts with tenants giving 2 months notice so you don't have to stay until October.
In your shoes I would buy a dehumidifier.
I've recently bought one for a room that doesn't get used much in winter and i was shocked how much moisture was in the air

I'm afraid a lot of management companies for private tenants are like this. Seems against the rules.My husband and I rented a very nice flat years ago when we sold our house and couldn't find anywhere to buy immediately. We had the same issue and everyone was incredibly stuck up. (I got told off for driving at 23 mph on the grounds for heavens sake!)

Never rented before that or since but aside from that, I have an excellent Meako dehumidifier that helps to dry my washing very quickly. If you can invest in one, it will help greatly.

Good luck x

The mould is a health issue. Go to your local Citizens Advice as they can help on how you can take this up with the council Housing Department.

This is probably to do with the management company of the building/freeholder.
When I bought my own flat it was written in the lease/title that we could not hang washing outside the flats.
Therefore it’s probably not even up to your landlord if it’s a privately owned flat. I also had problems with condensation & mold too.
Best advice I can give is ventilate as much as possible & I ran a dehumidifier whilst drying my washing inside.

I once lived in a property where one of the terms of the lease was no washing outside. It may be this isn’t up to the landlord

We have the same thing for the flat we own, it's very common. The management company do enforce it.
I'd imagine the agent is only tackling you because he doesn't manage the other rental flats, only yours.
We have a very efficient dehumifier which we use in a large tank cupboard and it works very well. I am also a landlord and did buy an inexpensive dehumidifier for one of our tenants who refused to open the windows when they were using the washer/dryer which we provided with the flat. Even a small one can make a difference.