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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this is unacceptable conditions for a tenant?

143 replies

FedUpTenant · 17/05/2018 19:17

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?

OP posts:
zgaze · 17/05/2018 21:54

I lived in a flat just like this and I’m not exaggerating when I say a dehumidifier changed my life. Honestly it made such a difference.

HecTick · 17/05/2018 21:55

Not if its written into your contract that you can't! I've had this, reason being to prevent damp. Dry outdoors or in a laundrette or a poky underground "drying room" but I would have been in breach of contract if I'd been caught drying clothes inside.

Weezol · 17/05/2018 21:58

My place isn't as cold as yours. Electric storage heaters are crap as primary heating unless they are top of the range and less than five years old. I have a couple of deLonghi oil filled radiators that I use to boost room temperature - economical to run and have a thermostat.

I'm in the same boat as you, no room for a tumble drier, even a small one. I have the dehumidifier linked to further up thread and it's been brilliant. My flat isn't damp and gets plenty of sun, even so, the dehumidifier pulled litres and litres of moisture out of the air in the first week and has definitley made a difference to the room temperature.

hibbledibble · 17/05/2018 22:02

It sounds like you need to buy both a dehumidifier and a heated clothes horse. I can't see that it is the landlords responsibility to buy either of these. Both are available very reasonably.

Snortles · 17/05/2018 22:03

We rent and have had water/heating issues for the past year. Water is now finally resolved but heating is still a PITA. Out of all the radiators in the house only 2 work properly (1 is tiny). They are handy enough to dry DCs school uniform if need be. But all washing is usually dried at the Launderette.

blue25 · 17/05/2018 22:10

Can't you just buy a washer/dryer and take it with you when you move? If the flat's so bad, try and find a better one.

BMW6 · 17/05/2018 22:10

My tumble drier sits on top of my washing machine and is vented out of a window when in use.
When I rented I used to go to the launderette once a week and do it all there.
Sometimes I hand washed smaller items but after running through a small spin dryer they would dry overnight on a clothes horse with a window left slightly open for ventilation.

Surely you are not hand washing everything and just wringing it out ?

Lindy2 · 17/05/2018 22:19

I'd use the washing machine at your flat and then go to the laundrette to use one of their tumble dryers.
They are usually massive and fairly cheap to use.
Not keeping wet clothes in the flat would also hopefully reduce the moisture going into the air there.

pinkdelight · 17/05/2018 22:33

Service wash once a week. Usually good value and then fold it all up nicely and everything!

Echo those questioning if you're using the heaters correctly. While central heating is way preferable, I used to have storage heaters in a flat and they were fine - used the economical leccy overnight then kept the place nice n warm as needed. Maybe yours need fixing?

pinkdelight · 17/05/2018 22:33
  • they fold it up nicely, not then. The point is they do it - bliss!
Jonbb · 18/05/2018 00:00

Gwenhwyfar, yes a lot of leases prohibit drying washing inside because of the condensation issues this causes, it ,leads to mould on windows, walls, and curtains, then moves onto the other soft furnishings if a bad case. A lot of T A also require the property to be heated by the tenants in the winter, especially if they are absent for any length of time. This is normal stuff most householders have to do; along with buying washing machines and dryers and stuff!

Eveforever · 18/05/2018 04:55

Shelter could probably answer your questions about what is acceptable, what your landlords responsibilities are etc.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 18/05/2018 05:07

A dehumidifier, definitely.
And, if you can run to it, a heated clothes airer like Lakeland's. They are brilliant - a dd uses hers (2 toddlers) just about every day. They don't take up too much floor space and can fold away, or you can just use half with the rest folded down flat. Everything dries overnight.

SabineUndine · 18/05/2018 05:34

You are going to end up with black mould everywhere. Buy that washer-dryer or take your washing to a laundrette to dry.

Kotare · 18/05/2018 07:05

I haven't read the full thread.
Your flat should have an EPC certificate. The laws have just changed and a rental must now have at least an D rating.

You can look up your flat here: www.epcregister.com/reportSearchAddressTerms.html?redirect=reportSearchAddressSelectAddress

I know this cos my rental just failed! I've arrange some extra insulation which is costing a couple of hundred quid.

There may also be a grant they can get to improve things. Or they may have somewhere they could store your washing machine so you could buy a combi one. What is your landlord like?

Kotare · 18/05/2018 07:16

Ops, I think I got that wrong. A rental has to be an E, not a D.

Sorry. Friday evening brain.

wombat1a · 18/05/2018 07:20

Get a dehumidifier, it'll make a huge amount of difference. Plus you don't want to be in the situation where at the end of your tenancy you lose some deposit because of damp issue that the LL claims is caused by our drying stuff inside.

Furano · 18/05/2018 07:20

IMO it is very short sighted for LL to provide a WM and not a WM/TD machine. Better to have tenants drying clothes in the machine than in the flat.

Raven88 · 18/05/2018 07:27

Since you have heating I don't think the landlord will have to do anything. I was without a boiler in the winter and I bought some oil heaters and they replaced the radiators. Personally I would look at your budget if you can't afford to heat your house.

Gwenhwyfar · 18/05/2018 07:34

"IMO it is very short sighted for LL to provide a WM and not a WM/TD machine."

It's the norm in rental flats Furano.

"ou don't want to be in the situation where at the end of your tenancy you lose some deposit because of damp issue that the LL claims is caused by our drying stuff inside."

How could the LL blame her for that. Every LL of a flat without a garden knows that tenants will be drying clothes inside.

Gwenhwyfar · 18/05/2018 07:37

"Gwenhwyfar, yes a lot of leases prohibit drying washing inside because of the condensation issues this causes, it ,leads to mould on windows, walls, and curtains, then moves onto the other soft furnishings if a bad case. "

How can they prohibit drying inside if they don't provide a dryer or a garden?
Going to the launderette isn't always practical so the tenant really has no choice.
There's nothing about this in my rental contract. OP can check hers I suppose, but I presume she would know if it was in there.

strixowl · 18/05/2018 07:42

I live in a studio with no washing machine and no tumble dryer. With a 2 year old. I pay the launderette to do some of it, but make up the rest by hand-washing it at home and using a clothes-horse. It takes 1-2 days to dry. Most stuff will dry overnight but not the thicker materials.

I don't think you're landlord has to supply white goods.

Mookie81 · 18/05/2018 07:43

Meaco dehumidifier and Lakeland heated clothes horse.
I know it's already been said but lots of people saying it may make the OP realise it's the way to go!

strixowl · 18/05/2018 07:45

Service wash here is £15 for quite a bit load. It doesn't do all our washing and bedding though (separate washes) hence the hand-washing I do on-top Grin

SingleTakenOliviaBenson · 18/05/2018 07:47

Get the heated airer that is supposed to be used with the cover you have.
I got one and I stg it's amazing, clothes dry overnight and it actually heats the room up! Costs about 4p and hour as well so you can leave it on.
I don't think a landlord would be obliged to buy you a dryer, but you could talk to them about how cold it is?