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.

One of your neighbours will have complained to the people who manage the block. They are jobsworths so pass the complaint onto your landlord who passes it onto you.

Write to your landlord explaining the damp issue and reasonably explain that you need to dry outside, until it is resolved. It may well be that the damp is a block maintenance issue and he needs them to act. So he writes to them saying the washing stays outside till the damp is resolved.

Then do nothing.There is someone in the block who likes to complain. There always is.

Can you get a tumble dryer? Avoid mould at all costs

Dehumidifiers are amazing. I bought one for about £65.I pop it on overnight and my clothes are dry the next day. It cost c4p to run it over night - get one with good reviews and low energy use. Mine turns itself off. When you empty the water tank you can use it for plants or dispose of it down the sink.

The dehumidifier will also deal with the damp without you needing to lose heat through open windows.

It may not say anything about laundry but may say you have to comply with block management rules at any given time.

Honestly OP buy a good electric dehumidifier, you're moving in October as you said and buying your own place so you'll just bring it with you. It's an investment. It will dry your clothes faster and will help with the mould.

The suggestion by the agents to dry clothes inside is idiotic, especially if there is an existing mould problem. It will cause huge issues with damp and mould that will damage the property further. I don't think you are doing anything wrong drying clothes outside , especially if others are doing it.

Ignore the request.

It's really not nice to see washing hanging outside the front door is it. Let's not lower standards.

It’s really not nice to talk to people in such a patronising tone, is it? Let’s not forget manners.

that black mould is awful

Is it fully just on the public pavement where you’re drying it? That’s not even their property. I’d just carry on doing it and ignore further correspondence.

I’d contact Shelter and ask them whether that’s - legally speaking - a reasonable requirement. Landlords aren’t allowed to just make up any old rule they like if it’s unreasonable, that said, it could be to do with the leasehold agreement. Shelter are very knowledgeable about the law in this area. I’m with you though that it’s a load of bllcks, regardless of what the law says, I don’t think it should be legal to build homes without thinking where people are going to dry their laundry, it’s a fairly basic life function, isn’t it?! I’m assuming given the size of the flat there’s no room to install a tumble dryer either?
On a practical note though, electric dehumidifiers are a godsend and they aren’t that expensive to run.

I don’t think they can tell you not to dry outside, I think that’s unreasonable of them to do that especially given the mould problems. A few years ago I rented a tiny back to back house on a main road and there was no way to dry clothes outside, it was already written into the tenancy agreement that I had to dry everything using a condenser dryer to avoid damp and mould which didn’t bother me as I knew prior to moving in and I was single at the time so it wasn’t a huge cost. Now I have my own home and children, we had a few issues with mould and mildew forming around the windows so we bought a Meaco dehumidifier which is quiet and compact. it’s been the best investment, clothes dry so much quicker on the clothes horse and the amount of water that it draws out of the atmosphere is crazy.

We’re not allowed to hang washing outside on our flat balcony. I do, but hidden behind those fake leaf panels, so it’s not visible from below or the street. Our previous flat was in a fancier area, and no visible washing is allowed anywhere, not even in private house gardens.

My old flat, I didn’t have direct access to the back garden, so had to lug washing down and round the back alley. It’s just what needed to be done.

Does the back garden have a washing line? Why not liaise with the other tenants and get one installed?

We dry outside all year round (North Scotland). Wind dries clothes!

Ask where in the lease, it says about not drying clothes outside. If others are allowed then I imagine it is not in the lease. If it does say, then get a really good dehumidifier.

I take two huge bags of laundry to dry at the launderette once a week. I'd hate to dry laundry indoors.

I would do the launderette for washing as someone else suggested, and I’d also be buying a dehumidifier to have running in the flat anyway. It’s not like you have to leave it there when you move, they’re handy in all houses. Our clothes dry so much quicker with it on and I wouldn’t want to run the risk of damp drying clothes without it (although we now have a tumble dryer).

This is not acceptable. https://housinghub.campaign.gov.uk/make-things-right/new-law/?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23065127454&gbraid=0AAAAApZMC1l7P_e9oO6NvYgqslPEfCR_B&gclid=CjwKCAiAybfLBhAjEiwAI0mBBqT0KkJybzTAF5K63wTlX37KKWKAFw7sZvyPbfm4_dL6FFWirWs3sBoCeZ8QAvD_BwE

They need to sort out the mould. That’s the main issue here, not your washing. Mould is a health hazard and has actually been a cause of death. I can’t believe they aren’t breaking the law by letting that mould problem continue.

we do dry clothes in a flat but we have a dehumidifier on and in the summer windows open. They need to look into the mould issue though as that’s a health risk. I’d also be looking to more

Yanbu. I would go nuclear about this.

We are meant to be saving energy, money and the planet. If laundry can be dried outside then it should be. I'd be onto my MP and the council, do they have a green or net-zero team?

Drying washing inside a small property with decent insulation will cause mould unless you open the windows a lot. It’s not poor construction, it’s how you’re using the flat, which btw is in direct contravention of your lease.

The terms were clear when you signed it and it’s not an uncommon stipulation. You do have options though, you can use the outside space at the back, buy a dehumidifier or tumble dryer or take your washing to a laundrette.

The dehumidifier option is the most economical, DS has a similar problem in a small rented house and finds it really useful.

Find a new flat if you feel that you have justification to action the break clause? Do you feel that you do? Without knowing your price bracket/local market/your ability to secure a new tenancy, it’s hard to recommend a course of action. If you genuinely believe there is a mould issue, you would give notice surely? Never mind the washing… Lots of landlords are exiting the market, so it’s actually a great time to buy a flat, if you can afford to.

Some properties have covenants re washing not to be dried where it can be seen, I know my home does and if this is the case where you are then you should respect that or look for somewhere without this rule.
Can you find space for a tumble dryer?

it’s think o/side the box time.
Launderette dryer & planning is the way to go.

Apart from that, press for the extractor to be fixed because it’s a separate issue & there are laws about mouldy premises. Get genned up on that to argue the case.

IF you buy a decent dehumidifier, Meaco for example, keep the door shut of whatever room you use it in. It works too hard & inefficiently if you don’t close the door. Move it from room to room.

Look up the Shelter website.

Contact your local council regarding the mould and extractor fan, their private sector housing team will investigate and then the landlord will have no excuse not to fix the issues or they will be fined, advise the EA agent you will be doing this, it may put a rocket up their arse.

Would a washer dryer be another option? Or one of those dry buddys?