Ongoing battle with landlord (well, estate agent) re washing

[blackswan29]

Looking for a sense check please as I feel like I’m losing my mind!!

We rent a ground floor flat and have been drying our washing outside the front of the property on a clothes horse. We’ve now been told by property management that we MUST not dry washing outside and should instead dry it indoors or “even in the bathroom”.

The issue is.. we already have mould and condensation problems. Before going on holiday recently we wiped everything down and came back to visible mould across multiple areas (and we sent photos to them).
Our bathroom is tiny (no bath, barely floor space for a clothes horse) and the extractor fan is not even working properly. Property management say the landlord thinks it was replaced, but they have no records and are now asking us to confirm.

We have contacted them multiple times about this and their only solutions are:

• Open windows “even only ajar” (in winter, with rising energy bills, on a ground floor flat with fire windows that don’t latch). We’re out all day every day for work so this is completely out of the question.
• Buy multiple small dehumidifiers ourselves and place them around the windows (yes, we have to purchase them ourselves!!)

They’ve also acknowledged that other flats in the same block are drying washing outside — I’ve seen at least three — but say they “won’t discuss other properties” and are only concerned with ours, which feels pretty targeted.

We’re paying high rent, already ventilating as much as realistically possible (trickle vents open 24/7, heating set appropriately), and now being told to dry washing inside despite existing damp and mould. They’re also implying the cost of managing this (dehumidifiers, higher heating bills) should fall to us!!!

Am I being unreasonable in thinking it’s not fair or enforceable to ban drying washing outside purely due to ‘aesthetics’ (they’ve not given us a better reason). And they can’t insist we dry it inside when it’s actively worsening mould
This feels like a landlord/property issue, not the fault of our lifestyle!

Would love thoughts, especially if anyone’s dealt with similar.

Yeah, this. There's nothing worse than a landlord who doesn't appreciate you, or take the time to deal with your issues. The mold could cause a health issue and they're still not sorting things out. Get out of there, and find a landlord who will let you dry your washing!

Pilsner agree more. Rent charges are so high it’s disgraceful to make tenants stay in unsafe conditions. Plenty other landlords to hand your hard earned cashed to

My upstairs neighbours reported me for having my airer out in my garden. I had to take it back in and stick to the no clothes on view

Our landlord did the exact opposite and threatened to not renew our lease because they found us drying a football kit indoors.

Buy a dehumidifier with a clothes drying setting and a heated clothes horse (Lakeland). Take the cost of both off your rent and send the receipts to the agent or landlord. It is in the landlord's interests to keep the property mould free and therefore ought to pay for these things. As a landlord, I have bought both these for my tenants as I think they are pretty essential.

As a landlord I’d be delighted at you drying washing outside! We previously had a tenant in one of our properties who insisted on drying it inside, never opening windows, hoarding clutter in every available space and then complained about the mould. We had surveyors, decorators etc out to investigate and all said it was tenants fault. We’ve had 3 different tenants for long periods of time in property since and not one has complained re mould…. Also damp proof course was replaced prior to this and all windows have vents and there was fan in kitchen bathroom etc. could you speak directly to landlord to see if they really fo have an issue with it?

OP can obviously afford to move as they will be in a position to buy in less than a year - that takes a hefty deposit. Moving somewhere decent in the meantime might delay the purchase by a short time, but it's not like they don't have options.

Our previous house was very damp and prone to mould. It was a constant battle to keep it at bay. We had two big dehumidifiers (those small ones are useless), we ventilated a lot, constant bleaching and spraying, we never dried clothes inside but took them to laundrette (it was a pain with two small children but we couldn't have mould in the house, it is so bad for your health)
I would recommend to do all above if you have issues with damp/mould and move house of course.

Yeah, that'll work. "Until you sort out my mould problem, I'm going to carry on making it worse because I can't be arsed to carry my washing to where I'm allowed to dry it". 🙄

I would try to move once it’s manageable but in the meantime I would get a dehumidifier because of the mould (even if I wasn’t drying clothes inside) and try to get them to pay for it. It will help a lot. Your health is really important and mould can lead to serious issues. I know people who have been in a similar situation (extractor fan not working, exploitative agents). I was shocked to find out they were tied into renting for a year even though they’d been there for quite a while. Years ago you could give three months notice once you’d been renting for 6 months.
Some dehumidifier companies have the cost per hour for different models on their websites. The cost varies a lot depending on the type (eg desiccant can be more expensive but work at very low temperatures). Dehumidifiers are economical and much cheaper than tumble dryers and you can get ones with specific laundry settings. They make the house warmer too.
It’s a pain to have to open windows but if you can manage it at all opening at least two windows at the same time for a few minutes will help a lot.

Yes!
I’d be quoting that clause in an email and saying you are happy to dry your clothes inside as long as they’re happy to change the clause stating they are happy to deal with the cost of all damp and mould!

id also be stating that you will be getting the extractor fan fixed and deducting it from your rent next month! Keep receipts and deduct the amount!

Ignore this ridiculous “advice”, op

You know she can dry her clothes outside dont you? In the designated drying area?

That she chooses not to use?

Have you read the thread?

As I understood it the clothes don’t dry in the designated area as it doesn’t get the sun. Clothes that take ages to dry end up musty

Sun doesnt dry clothes, the air and any breeze dries clothes

Same with my garden, its north facing and small, a courtyard garden, there is no sun all winter.

Not true.
Also what is your problem? She said the designated area isn’t good for drying clothes. Why are you trying to add to an already stressful situation?

Im 'adding to a stressful situation'!

What are you talking about!!

I havent been round there by the way chucking water over her nearly dry clothes

She has no more, or no less of a stressful situation than the majority of people who have a designated drying area in their block. Its very common, not unusual at atll.

Of course it’s true 🙄