Best Renter-Friendly Apartment Upgrades

The problem this solves

You cannot rewire, repaint or drill, but you still want the place to feel like yours. The best rental upgrades change light, colour and storage, then come out cleanly when you leave. Your lease is the first check: our guide to what a tenant can change explains how to read it.

Try this before you buy anything

1. Photograph every room before you change anything, so you can show the condition you found it in.
2. Rearrange what you have. Moving the sofa off the wall or the bed to the other side can change a room more than a purchase.
3. Ask. Many landlords agree to paint or a shelf if you ask in writing and offer to return it to the original state.

What to look for

• Plugs in or stands up. No wiring, no fixings.
• Clean removal. Stretch-release adhesive, low-tack wallpaper and tension fittings.
• Moves with you. Spend on things you can take to the next home.

Our picks at a glance

The picks in detail

Light: plug-in wall sconces

Light at eye level changes a room more than anything else on this list. See how to brighten a dark apartment.

Colour: peel-and-stick wallpaper

A single feature wall is enough. Test a small piece behind furniture for a week before doing the whole wall. Our best removable wallpaper guide compares the types.

Art and mirrors: picture hanging strips

Know the limits before you hang anything heavy: what adhesive hooks and strips really hold.

Curtains and wardrobes: tension rods

Control: a smart plug

A lamp on a schedule makes a rental feel lived in. Smart plugs for beginners covers the setup.

How we chose

These are research-based recommendations: we compared published specifications, maker documentation and the features that matter in a small home. We have not tested them hands-on. Most picks are types of product rather than single models, so the buttons open the retailer's results; compare a few listings before you buy, in your own country's store.

Mistakes to avoid

• Using adhesive on fresh or flat paint. It can lift the paint when removed. 3M advises waiting seven days after painting.
• Hanging heavy items on strips. Mirrors and shelves of books need fixings or freestanding furniture.
• Assuming peel-and-stick is always allowed. Many leases treat any wall covering as an alteration.
• Throwing away original fittings. Keep the bulbs, curtain poles and shower heads you replace, labelled, to refit at the end.

Getting your deposit back

Before you move out, remove adhesive products by pulling the stretch tab slowly down along the wall, refit any originals, and fill small holes only if your lease allows. Compare the rooms with your move-in photos. In the UK, deposits in most tenancies must be protected in a government-approved scheme, which also handles disputes.

Keep originals safe

Whenever you take something down, such as a curtain rail, a shower head or a light shade, label it and store it in one box. On moving day, everything goes back in one go. Losing an original fitting is a common reason for deposit deductions.

Plan the spend

List the upgrades you want and sort them into three groups: free (moving furniture, decluttering), cheap and portable (lamps, rugs, smart plugs, hooks), and bigger purchases you will take with you (a storage bed, an air purifier). Do the free group first; it often changes how much of the rest you need.

Ask first for anything fixed

If an upgrade involves a screw, paint or a tool, ask your landlord in writing.

The bottom line

Light first, then colour, then storage. Keep everything removable and keep your move-in photos. For the full picture of renting well, see the ultimate renter's guide.