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?

I live in a small flat and my washing can easily take 3 days to dry properly. It does make the flat damp, but I don't worry about it too much. On my own so usually only one load a week unless I'm doing bed sheets.

I think if the drying situation bothered me that much I would either go to the launderette (unfortunately only open on the weekend) or ask a friend if I could use their dryer.

Would an old fashioned calor gas fire be an option? They really help dry out the air and are far more economical and powerful than electric heaters. I grew up in a really cold house with no central heating and we had moveable gas fires upstairs and down, it was never damp.

Modern tumble driers cost pennies to run, so don't be put off by the cost. Just make sure you sort out where the condensed water goes

I have rented several flats in the past (through agencies) that contained neither a washer nor a dryer, so I don't think your landlord is legally obliged to provide washing/drying facilities.
I could be wrong though.

I used a laundrette at that time.

You do know that it's not happening just because you are renting. People who have a mortgage have to go through this too. I think renters just want the moon on a stick.

Had a similar issue with drying clothes in a cold flat also, got, I think, the exact same heated dryer as you did and found it worked much better without the tent on it as there was more air circulating/ damp in the clothes was able to escape better plus it heated up the rest of the flat moderately

I agree about the dehumidifier but that the cheapest and quickest option is probably the laundrette short term and move ASAP. We were in a flat like that that was cold all the time. We ended up using a laundrette but still got damp problems, ruined quite a bit of our furniture. Complainted to landlord and they just said it was condensation damp and to leave the windows open all the time. On a ground floor flat with cheap double glazing when we both worked full time. Helpful. We moved.

Washer dryers are rubbish. They don’t dry clothes well. A dehumidifier is definitely a better option. However, it does sound like moving would be the best option.

yoshismother True. I bought from and elderly man and moved in January. The back door was so bad I could see a good chunk of outside when the door was shut. It was freezing in here. Not always roses when you own either OP.

We bought a plug in radiator for the living room in our last rental, quite expensive to buy initially but so economical to run. Had it on a low heat throughout the day, kept us toasty when mine were babies and toddlers.

Window open even in winter is a must. We're a family of six, I hang all our washing in the kitchen/dining room when I can't outside and keep one small window open through the day and evening all year round.

i think renters just want the moon on a stick well yes and no, most are paying more than what people pay on a mortgage, is it wrong to expect basic luxuries like heat?

OP, I feel your pain, I remember my first flat, it had no heating at all, it was above a old farm house and apparently the heat from the aga downstairs heated the flat. I ended up with a severe chest infection and tonsillitis. I had to wear several layers of clothes to bed, I would lie in the bath to warm up, whilst led in there I could se my breathe as it was so cold. When I woke up in the mornings there was frost on the inside of the windows (single glazed). I ended up having to stay with my mum until I could leave and find somewhere else. It was truelly awful.

I have also lived in places with night storage heaters and they are rubbish and expensive to run.

If I was you I would look for somewhere else to live.

We have a plug in heated clothes airer - https://www.lakeland.co.uk/21736/Dry:Soon-Standard-3-Tier-Heated-Tower-Airer?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-e-UcSN2wIVz0PTCh1G-QXwEAQYASABEgKJOvDDBwE&src=gfeed&skwcid=AL!49!3!251275991187!!!g!40411170769!&effid=Wv3fygAABQJ8221F:20180517200218:s - it's cheap to run and warms up the room too. If we have an especially big load, the laundrette's driers are big and quick

Is the heating working and not efficient? If so agree with the suggrstions of pp. If the heating doesn't work or work properly then you can complain to LL as they are responsible for maintaining this (unless for example you buy separate heaters.) If it is broken and ll refuses to fix it then have a look at Shelter website. Depending on how cold it is the local council may help as you have a young child.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/health_and_safety_standards_for_rented_homes_hhsrs

Spin dryer plus dehumidifier. The spin dryer rotates at nearly 3000 rpm so it gets a lot more excess water out than even the fastest automatic and you only run it for a couple of minutes. Then the stick the washing on an airer with the dehumidifier going, that'll stop the house getting damp as well as speed up the drying. They're portable so you can put it out of the way when you're not using it.

Our dehumidifier ran full pelt for a week and settled down. It keeps the house about 3 degrees warmer, no condensation on the Windows and washing dries overnight. No mould in corners now either. I got a meaco.

Are you allowed to dry clothes in your flat? What does your contract say?

Think very carefully before going to your landlord. You've been knowingly and deliberately causing damp. I would imagine he could evict you for this or claim repair costs.

Get a dehumidifier (that also has a heating option)

Second the dehumidifier. We have one (and no dryer). Also, by removing dampness the property will feel warmer, and take less energy to heat.

Another vote for a heated clothes horse and a dehumidifier. And also washer dryers are useless, you really need a separate dryer.

If used correctly storage heaters can be quite economical. Apologies if I sound patronising but are you using them correctly (rather than just switching them on when you feel cold), and on the correct electricity tariff? Economy 7 or whatever it’s called?

Heated clothes airer from Lakeland or Aldi

Dehumidifier

My cousin lived in a damp house and got a dehumidifier and she empties buckets or every day. It’s made a huge difference to her house and it won’t feel so cold once the moisture is out perhaps

My husband, property manager for lettings says that a landlord has to supply you with the basics of sufficient heating. What’s the problem with the radiators as to why it doesn’t supply adequate heating- that may be something you can speak to landlord about.

As for the dryer, it may potentially (depending on contract) be up to them to replace if it broke, but if it’s your choice then you would need to buy it. You can take it with you when you leave & put the old one back in (just would have to store the other one somewhere)

We have a tumble dryer that sits on top of the washer. Works fine.

"Are you allowed to dry clothes in your flat? What does your contract say?"

What a strange question. Everyone is allowed to dry clothes in their flat. You don't need special permission. I suppose a landlord could try to say that you can't but then, what are you supposed to do? Go around in wet clothes. It's hardly a choice is it.

Silly question but do you know how to use storage heaters properly and do you have the right kind of electricity billing - ie cheap overnight leccy t build heat in the system and then not using leccy but releasing slow background heat over the day (means you have to watch weather to sus out what to do with heating night before and make sure only using leccy overnight when cheap) They are a pain and generally not great to be fair and more modern electric radiators much better

Washing is not ll problem. I say that as someone who rented for 10 years!

I got heated airer from lakeland. Amazing invention