To think this is unacceptable conditions for a tenant?

[FedUpTenant]

I've been living in a rented flat now for 5 months. It is very cold in the building, confirmed by other tenants who live in the above/adjacent flats. You can put the electric heaters on but it costs a lot of money, I averaged £500 over the last 4 months before I realised! I am willing to put up with the cold in the flat and wear a furry onesie 24/7, but my AIBU is this:

It is virtually impossible to dry clothing in the flat. It takes upwards of 3-4 days to dry one load. Even with the heating on during the evenings it will still take 2-3 days to dry one load of clothing on a clothing horse. As there is wet clothes hanging for days upon end it causes the walls to be damp and paint to rub off.

Living in a two bedroom flat with a toddler, I need to be able to wash clothing more than every 4 days. It's really stressful to have mountains of clothing piling up because it is impossible to dry.

I have resorted to buying a tent like device in order to dry the clothing in a reasonable amount of time: tinyurl.com/ycvu9z8n
As you can imagine this is again impracticable as I have a massive tent in my living room and I also work from home so it doesn't look particularly professional.

I was reasonably happy with this solution until a friend visited today and said that this situation is ridiculous and she believes I have grounds to ask the landlord to buy a washer-dryer. She also thinks I could go to environmental health for the cold and unacceptable drying conditions.

Do I have the right to argue this with the landlord? Is there anything in law that says that this is unacceptable?

Do you open a window to let all the built up damp air out? I live in a flat too and dry clothes indoors. The window is always open even in the depths of winter to let the air circulate and prevent damp.

Do you have any outdoor space to dry clothes? Or open windows and hang clothes at the windows?

I struggle to see how in it is taking so long to get clothes dry?

KanielOutis Even with opening the window this does not help to dry the clothes any quicker. Also I am not exaggerating when I say how cold the flat is, I've literally been wearing my furry onesie on the hottest days of the year. I couldn't have the window open for a prolonged period, we'd freeze!

I don’t think your ll is responsible for getting your washing dry. Buy your own dryer.

Invisimamma I work from home and clients come to my house, which the landlord knows. I couldn't have clothes hanging from the windows.
My flat leads directly out into communal gardens so I couldn't put a clothes dryer out there.

Tumble drier???

The open window isn't to help the clothes dry, it's to help ventilate and is crucial to stop the flat getting damp. Even in winter.

Buy a condensing tumble dryer. Added bonus is they give off a lot of heat too! How you do your laundry is not your landlords issue.

Maelstrop There is nowhere to put a dryer. I would have to replace the existing washing machine with a washer-dryer.

When I had a flat the communal gardens had clothes mines for anyone to use. Be a maverick, Install one that can be removed and use it then bring it in. Save up for a condenser dryer for winter use.

Buy a condenser dryer. They have their own tank that you empty. I don't think you can force the landlord to buy one for you although I appreciate that the situation is shit. I have lived in flats and had similar issues.

Are landlords obliged to supply white goods? I really can't see you having grounds for insisting on a dryer

There is no where to put a condenser dryer unless I replace the washing machine. I've literally measured every cupboard, wardrobe, space to see if I could fit one elsewhere in the flat.

• clothes lines not mines naturally

Sorry I see you don't have space for a separate dryer. So washer-dryer it is, but I highly doubt your landlord will consider it his responsibility.

It is your problem but you might be able to persuade them to buy one if you explain it is making the flat damp. I can believe it takes days as if I dont use the radiators my stuff will grow mould before drying.

Have you considered buying an electric heated clothes horse? Or a Dri Buddi? They do get mixed reviews but anything might help in your situation. Most of them seem to fold when not in use too so you could probably find a home for it in a cupboard/under a bed etc.

A dehumidifier.

It's the size of a large suitcase and draws cold, moist air in, cools it, condenses the water into a tank and blows warm dry air out.

Only problem is you have to empty the tank and it eon't operate below 16-17 degrees Celsius.

I wouldn't mind replacing it myself. But I don't particularly want to spend £300+ and then have to leave it here at the end of the tenancy.

Are they plug in style electric heaters? Because if so you should have proper heating like radiators or hot air heating. If there is no built in heating then that is something to talk to the landlord about.

bookmum08 It is radiators, but really rubbish storage ones. They cost an absolute fortune to run. But disregarding that, even with the radiators blasting out it still takes me 2-3 days to dry things

Have you considered a compact dryer? It should fit on whatever surface is over the washing machine or just on top of it? I've even seen them in cupboards before (when not in use).

It sounds like your washer either isn't spinning well - you've maybe got a blocked filter, an outgoing motor brush or are simply overloading the machine. Washing shouldn't be so wet when it comes out of the washer that it takes days to dry.

You can try approaching your landlord in a nice friendly way and explain that your concerned for the fabric of the property, and explain you're exploring options and wonder if they would consider purchasing a washer dryer. They're not obliged to, you however are obligated to keep the property fit for habitation and if you keep all windows closed (as you seem to have said) and end up with a mould problem then I've no doubt the landlord will come after your deposit and/or evict you.

Seconded re the dehumidifier, we have one that we run over winter when we dry clothes inside (hang them on the line outside in summer). When we first got one it took out huge amounts of water from the air and the house generally (we had to empty it twice a day) and now it's down to once every couple of days even when we dry clothes. It stopped the mould growing on our windows over the winter and made the house feel warmer (dryer air feels warmer in the cold). Cost about 100 quid for a household one and you'll need to run it in the same room you dry your clothes in.

You need to open the windows. It isn’t healthy to have all that damp. You’ll get mildew.

I used to take mine to the laundrette. It’s not the landlords responsibility.

Definitely agree get a dehumidifier.

Ps it used to take us 2 to 3 days to dry clothes in an old flat of ours too, nothing unusual about that tbh. It's the lack of dry air to draw the moisture out of your clothes that's the issue, and the dehumidifier will solve the moisture problem.