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?

AnnieOH1 It doesn't come out any wetter than any other machine. It's just how cold the flat is that causes the issue. My neighbour has the exact same problem.

I don't keep the windows closed all the time. I do air the property out when my toddler is at nursery. It would be unfeasible to have them open any longer than that, or when he is at home. I can't emphasise enough how freezing cold it is. I think you'd have to experience it to understand. Going outside in winter is warmer than my flat is!

You need a really good dehumidifier. This will help with the damp and drying the washing, it also generates heat, so will help with warmth.

What are the extractor fans in your bathroom and or kitchen like?

I own a flat that I rent out and I bought a dehumidifier for my tenants. My biggest problem is if they choose not to use it and complain of damp.

I have installed expensive extractor fans which trickle vent all the time and then respond to humidity levels by running at a higher level, extracting more moisture.

If I were you I would contact your landlord, explain the problem and suggest a dehumidifier. Point out that otherwise there is a damp problem. If they are reasonable they may well agree to buy one. If not, I'd consider buying one yourself.

Not sure how to add a photo of what I mean, but this sort of thing.
Ebac 3850e Most Powerful 21 Litre Dehumidifier for Condensation, Damp and Mould with Smart Auto-Function, Air Purification and Laundry Drying Modes, Free 2 Year Warranty, White https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KTAEZUC/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_lTC.AbWWHJFQ8

in order to dry clothes you could try something like this:

whiteknightdryers.com/shop/white-knight-c35aw-inverted-compact-vented-reverse-tumble-dryer/?gclid=COGSjqfcwsoCFaLnwgodfCADGA

You can hang it on a wall and hang the hose through the window or use a venting box if you can't make a hole in the wall.

The cost of running the dryer will also be extortionate

I have a heated clothes airer. It heats the room and dries clothes in 1 day

It's worth discussing this with the LL but be prepared that they might not be arsed and no they don't really have to do anything.

If your flat is severely affected by damp - as in, severely affected by mould spores everywhere - then it would be worth calling Environmental Health at your local council and they would come and potentially support you in taking action about this with your landlord. But I really mean 'severely' as the last flat we lived in we had horrid damp/mould from before we moved into it that the letting agents would not do anything about, and environmental health said it wasn't bad enough that they would consider doing anything about it, even though it was very visible in a few parts of the flat and the entire flat smelled of damp, I had to burn incense all the time to cope with it and we had our windows open daily as well, winter included, but the flat was just damp before we moved in so there wasn't much we could do about it other than taking steps for it not to become even worse e.g. opening windows a lot, cleaning up new patches of mould spores on the walls and windows, putting these strips on the window edges for the condensation, and we bought a dehumidifer which we used basically constantly, and heated the flat fairly well during winter despite the electric storage heaters costing us loads of money. They were not alterable either so it would all run out about 4pm and then we'd be freezing and only had the electric fire in the living room to use, and we had an electric heater in the bedroom to heat up the room a bit before bed. We did have a washer/dryer in the flat though - it broke a few weeks after we moved in and the LL was so slow to get a new one so we agreed we'd buy our own and we took it with us at the end of the tenancy. I don't know how we'd have coped without a dryer.

TL;DR: it's shit, but there's probably nothing you can do about it unless you've got a decent landlord who will actually get you a washer/dryer (and given the condition of the flat as a whole, it doesn't sound like that's realistic).

Does the washing machine belong to the landlord? If it does I think the most you could expect from the landlord is that he removes and stores it, in order that you can replace it with your own washer dryer.

Beyond that, welcome to the world of running a home...I own an old cottage in the mountains, we have outside drying space but can be in the clouds for days on end in winter months, nothing drys in or out unless it is directly on the radiator which then causes damp, we battled on without a tumble dryer for the first winter then bought a washer dryer (no room for separate dryer). We had the coldest winter here for at least 40 years (neighbours were losing there water supplies as they were freezing solid), so heating bills were higher than usual, I think this has been the same for much of the country with the very long winter. I have a 3 month DD and manage to use cloth nappies.

This is not your Landlords problem.

Love my dehumidifier. With a fan heater on for an hour to get it going and then the dehumidifier for a few hours, most things get dry. Doesn't damage clothes like a tumble dryer, either. Better in a smaller space so probably close it away in your bedroom.

Move. Please move. It's one of the reasons we moved from our last place. Just cold, all the time and it had central heating!

Given that you accepted the flat, as is, it would be unreasonable to expect them to pay for anything to resolve the cold, however you don't have to live there. How long do you have left on your tenancy, if a while, can you mutually agree a break?

If you can fit an airer in your flat, you can fit a condenser dryer. They can go anywhere as long as it's near a plug.

Second the dehumidifier. They are great for drying laundry and warm the place a little too. You could ask the landlord if they would cover it especially if the flat is damp? If not you could take it with you, and they are relatively cheap to run.
www.dehumidifiersuk.com/domestic-dehumidifiers.html
I’m not sure that this is the whole answer though. What does your contract say about appliances etc?

Bit drastic but have you considered moving?

sorry if its already been mentioned but do you not have space outdoors anywhere for a washing line?

Until recently we've always had our vented tumble dryers in our bedroom or a spare room.
If you have the money to spare for a tumble dryer would you be able to put in your bedroom or a corner of your living room? We covered ours with a throw when not in use.
I also have the Lakeland Heated airer which I put in one of the bedrooms. The heated airer was a godsend for keeping us warm when our boiler almost blew up went kaput.
The wall tumbler Emma suggests looks good too.

Get a condenser dryer, you can put them anywhere. Failing that, use a laundrette. Failing that, look into moving. You could ask the ll as no harm in asking but I very much doubt they would provide a washer dryer if the washing machine is currently working fine.

Extreme cold is something you can report.
england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/health_and_safety_standards_for_rented_homes_hhsrs

Are they old style storage heaters?

a whirly gig in the communal garden?

doesnt the sun shine where you are op?

Check your tenancy agreement regarding the washing machine. When I rented there was a clause in mine that said the existing washing machine would be left in-situ, but if it required repairing or replacing it would be my responsibility, as the tenant, to organise and pay for this. I don't think that it would be your landlords responsibility to provide you with a washer dryer unless, perhaps, your flat is let to you as furnished?

My mum has a very small tumble dryer that she keeps in a cupboard when not in use, perhaps something like this could be a possible solution?

Similar issues when my daughter was a baby and toddler.....once a week wash and dry at the Laundrette. No choice but to do this.

no it's not your landlords responsibility for your clothes washing and drying capability other than to ensure the equipment provides when you moved in works correctly during your tenancy.

Sorry pressed post too soon.

Are you on an electric prepayment meter?

I fourth the dehumidifier. Mine dries clothes overnight.

Is moving an option? My last flat was cold for about 80% of the year and it was exhausting.

Buy a white knight 3kg, they're tiny and give out great heat.

england? what does the epc say? it would have told you that there were storage heaters.

are you on economy 10?

is it cheap? must be or presumably you would have.moved.