Drying washing on our balcony

[Emmabryant123]

We private rent in a block of 16 flats
The flats vary from rented to owned .
We put our washing on two airers today on our balcony
No offensive clothing etc on show
We came down to this message on the main front door
Are we being unreasonable!? Or is this person who wrote this note being unreasonable?

@PancakeAndKeith

Poundbury. #10 wtf is a bird dog

Ignore your passive aggressive neighbour. Keep drying your laundry outside!

If you're still concerned, just get a lower dryer so it sits below the top of the wall (like the Vileda one a PP posted). I'm assuming your balcony is brick all the way around?

I must admit I’m interested in which countries do and which don’t.

In the US, there are many housing subdivisions and neighborhoods whose covenants forbid drying clothes outside. I live in a "right to dry" state that has a law overriding those rules. But still very few people dry clothes outside.

Outrageous that anyone would have a problem with drying clothes on a balcony. It really doesn't affect them in the slightest! And so much better for the environment than a clothes dryer. Plus damp clothes hanging inside all the time isn't good either. Dampness breeds all sorts of nastiness that can lead to health problems (i personally developed pneumonia after moving into an apartment with a damp/mould problem.

Proper posh people don't wash their clothes, just air and press. Most tweeds will never have seen a dry cleaners and will be many years old. Not much to mock there.

Well,you obviously can ban those things because a number of us have experienced it

Well obviously they need to stop such bans because forcing people to use tumble dryers, put the heating on and open the window (WTF?) or dry inside without heating and causing damp are all worse options for various reasons and disgustingly wasteful from an environmental perspective.

Choosing the energy intensive solution because some snobs 'think drying washing doesn't look very nice' is ridiculous and should be the kind of opinion that is not socially acceptable.

I once lived in a tiny one bedroom flat in a new build with a little private patio outside. They had a no washing outside over time the block started to get a really bad damp problem (partly due to the lack of windows). They sent out letters telling residents not to dry their clothes inside either.

Is your neighbour selling their flat? Maybe you should get some police tape and cordon off their flat for when potential buyers arrive to view the flat.

If I come across a piss stained, flea ridden mattress or a burnt out car engine maybe I can dump that outside? Maybe tie an untrained, unfed pit bull to the lamp post with some rope?

Honestly, since when does laundry lower a house price? There is more to life than a few thousand on the value of your house (which will soon disappear in the next iminent financial crash , laundry or not). Getting on with people and being a nice human being is one of those things.

Lots of pointless snobbery, agree with everyone pointing out environmental impact etc.

If you buy a flat with these rules and do put your washing out, out of interest, what powers do they have to stop you? (Appreciate tenants are different).

It would make an interesting court case, for anyone prepared to go that far.

The right to 'quiet enjoyment', environmental considerations and practicalities - washing dries better outside and doesn't cause damp vs adherence to rules that have no objective purpose.

Court case in what sense? Because lots of people have been evicted by the court for hanging washing out, in breech if their lease. Unless you’re saying the clause in the lease should be challenged? I don’t see how it could, surely the judge would just say you shouldn’t have bought the house if you didn’t like the lease

Of course the clause should be challenged, it's a ridiculous pointless rule.

If you buy a flat with these rules and do put your washing out, out of interest, what powers do they have to stop you? (Appreciate tenants are different).

The Management company can warn you but ultimately there is nothing they can do . I have known tenants who have not had their leases renewed because of infringing the deeds re parking , smoking etc

Honestly, since when does laundry lower a house price? There is more to life than a few thousand on the value of your house (which will soon disappear in the next iminent financial crash , laundry or not). Getting on with people and being a nice human being is one of those things.

Suggest you ask the marketing team of a house builder trying to sell houses where there are social housing tenants flouting the rules on this . They are just as frustrated by this .Who wants to pay 600k for a house looking out at laundry on a verandah ?

Who says it's the social housing tenants hanging out their washing? It's something that anyone with an ounce of common sense does when the weather allows. Why wouldn't you?

For each snob who gets upset about normal domestic arrangements, there's 10 people judging them for snobbery and unnecessary tumble dryer usage.

TheStuffedPenguin

You should have checked. You can't move into an area and demand the residents there before you change their habits because you think it will decrease the value of your house.

I've lived in this block for four years, always had washing on the balconies, as has everyone else. It's a concrete balcony, the only people who can see are the block opposite looking down - and they all have washing out. Six months ago we got a new building manager who decided to enforce the rule of no washing on balconies. I will not be drying every load in the drier (hello global warming) or the inevitable mould with it in the flat. I live in Australia FFS, 99% of the time it's drying weather. It's a shit rule I'm happy to risk eviction over, doubt they could be bothered with the paperwork

fishfeedingfrenzy you don't understand - the rules ARE there . The tenant is flouting it and is being taken to task by the housing authority .

barbaraofseville we know it is the social tenants because it is the social tenant block

TheStuffedPenguin

Yes I do. It is a ridiculous rule and it is asking for damp in the flat. Never mind the health of people living in the block or the environment.....

If managers of housing developments don't want washing dried within view of neighbours, they should be obliged to provide outside drying spaces which are screened off.

Court case in what sense? Because lots of people have been evicted by the court for hanging washing out, in breech if their lease. Unless you’re saying the clause in the lease should be challenged? I don’t see how it could, surely the judge would just say you shouldn’t have bought the house if you didn’t like the lease

You can't be evicted from a property you own, @Passthecherrycoke.
So yes, it would be a court case, & the judge would examine both sides of the argument. Assuming the leaseholders REALLY wanted to risk several thousands of pounds bringing a case about ... clean laundry being air dried ...

I do wonder why this is such an issue these days. Years ago homes and flats were built with the means to dry laundry outside, presumably to avoid damp. I wonder if it is just snobbery that has encouraged these rules. The thing is, more and more families live in flats now because they cant afford a house. It is just a rule that makes no sense to me and is purely about image and pleasing a few whingers rather than common sense.

The person who wrote the note is a massive coward and needs to get a life!

@TheStuffedPenguin

".Who wants to pay 600k for a house looking out at laundry on a verandah ?"

Me. For that amount of money I'd dam well expect proper drying facilities.