Sky-high mortgage rates and a lack of affordable housing have led to a steady rise in the number of renters in the UK over the past two decades.
Estate agent Savills recently projected that by 2031, an additional million households could be renting across the country as more people find themselves priced out of homeownership.
But whether renting is a choice or a need, one thing’s for sure: making a temporary space feel like home can be a challenge. With blank white walls, generic light fixtures and IKEA flat-pack furniture to contend with, time spent in a rental can often feel like a temporary stopgap rather than an extension of your taste and personality.
Luckily, brands have recently stepped up to meet the growing demand for flexible home comforts, offering a range of clever no-drill accessories that allow you to personalise your space without risking your security deposit. Even better? You don’t need a wealth of DIY skills to add these stylish updates to your home.
From slick task lighting to renter-friendly window dressings, we’ve rounded up the best easy-to-remove accessories to turn your rental pad into a home you’ll love.
Best renter-friendly accessories at a glance:
- Best overall: Philips Hue Gradient Lightstrip 2M – £99, Amazon
- Best for adding a luxury feel: Pridola Wireless Wall Sconces – £52.99, Amazon
- Best for hanging artwork: Command Picture Hanging Strips X-Large – £13.49, Amazon
- Best for health-conscious renters: Tappwater EcoPro Compact – £64, Amazon
- Best for dressing windows: Blinds2Go Cavendish Cream Roman Blinds – from £13.15, Blinds2Go
- Best for bathroom storage: Kegii Shower Caddy – £14.99, Amazon
- Best for updating a rental kitchen: Sibi Rechargeable Under Cabinet Lights – £9.99, Amazon
- Best for on a budget: WiZ Smart Lightbulb – £14.99, Amazon
Shop the best below
Philips Hue Gradient Lightstrip 2M
Best for: overall
A breeze to attach to walls, ceilings and furniture, the Philips Hue Gradient Lightstrip is easily one of the best home light systems on the market, adding professional accent lighting to any surface. Each two-metre LED strip has a peel-and-stick adhesive backing that can be flexibly moulded and tucked behind headboards, coving and tricky corners to add vibrant colours to otherwise dark corners.
The lights pair via Bluetooth with an easy-to-navigate Philips Hue app, which has an impressive library of pre-programmed light settings, ranging from bright disco shades to relaxing dusky sunsets. A useful timed routine feature instructs the Hue lightstrip to wake you up with a bright light in the morning and gradually dim before it’s time to retire to bed. Using your phone's location, it can also cleverly detect when you’re close to home and switch the lights on before you put your key in the door.
While these lights work perfectly well using bog-standard Bluetooth with your phone, pairing them with a Philips Hue Bridge allows you to unlock lots more cool features, such as clever sync mode, which hooks up to your smart TV and mimics the colours on screen for a next-level home cinema experience. With powerful luminance, we were impressed with how well these lights transformed boring white walls, adding a cosy ambient feel.
Buy now £99.00, Amazon
Pridola Wireless Wall Sconces
Best for: adding a luxury feel
A great option for people living in small spaces, this set of two Pridola wireless wall sconces features a sturdy adhesive backing that allows you to create bedside mood lighting without the need to call an electrician. Designed in a smart brushed gold or black, each lamp comes with a luxury linen-style shade and a rechargeable light bulb that switches on and off at the tap of a remote control.
We were pleased with how easy these floating lights were to install, thanks to their strong adhesive strips, which prevented any clattering disasters from happening in the night. All you need to do is simply peel off the backing, hold it to the wall for 30 seconds, and you’re good to go. For extra stability, you can also mount the lamps with screws, but we found the peel-and-stick option was good enough. We attached these lamps to a painted wall without any issues, but Pridola says they work just as well on brick, tile, concrete and wood surfaces.
There are plenty of handy extras to enjoy, too: adjustable brightness and warmth settings plus a timer which switches the lights off automatically, which is a godsend if you’re prone to falling asleep while reading. If you’re sick of relying on the dreaded ‘big light’ in 2025, consider this a small but life-changing upgrade.
Buy now £52.99, Amazon
Command Picture Hanging Strips X-Large
Best for: hanging artwork
One of the most frustrating things about renting is not being able to hang bits of art to your walls without stressing over losing your security deposit. Thankfully, Command Strips have changed the game for the rental population, allowing tenants to display their favourite pieces without worrying about holes, dents or angry landlords.
These strips use clever Velcro-like technology that locks together and holds firmly once applied to a wall and left to set for an hour. We used them to hang everything from large prints to smaller items like a wooden key cabinet and were fairly astonished by the results. Not only was installation effortless, but we had zero issues with things falling down in our home.
That said, while Command Strips claim to hold almost anything, there are weight limits to be aware of. Four strips can support up to 9kg, so before you start hanging precious family heirlooms, double-check that your wall decor is within the weight range so you can avoid potential accidents or injury.
Buy now £13.49, Amazon
Tappwater EcoPro Compact
Best for: health-conscious renters
A great option for renters who want cleaner, better-tasting water but can’t install a full filtration system, the TAPP Water tap filter easily attaches to most standard faucets with a simple twist-on action. Sleek and compact, it sits on your existing tap and doesn’t take up valuable counter space, making it ideal for small spaces or shared kitchens.
The filter uses activated carbon technology to reduce chlorine, microplastics and other H2O nasties, giving you fresh-tasting water straight from the tap. You can also flip a lever to switch back to tap water, which is handy for filling the kettle or watering the plants.
The replaceable filters last up to three months, and while maintenance can be pricey, it’s a fairly simple switch, as the cartridges twist on and off. If you’re keen to ditch drinking out of plastic bottles for environmental reasons, this is an eco-friendly, cost-effective upgrade that’s easy to throw in a box and take from rental to rental.
Buy now £62.40, Amazon
Blinds2Go Cavendish Stone Roman Blinds
Best for: dressing rental windows
Whether it’s yellowing lace curtains or a broken blind, moving into a rental home can throw up all kinds of depressing window coverings. But you don’t need to put up with your landlord’s rogue DIY efforts, as these no-drill blinds offer a great solution that looks just as good as many bespoke options.
Designed to fit neatly into your window frame without the need for screws or nails, these premium-looking blinds work by using an adjustable tension rod that nestles snugly in your window recess and holds surprisingly well.
We rated these blinds for their tactile fabric, elegant folds and high-quality finish, adding a bespoke, high-end look to any living space. If you’re not a fan of this stone colour, Blinds2Go has an impressive range of different fabrics to choose from, as well as blackout and thermal options for managing light and heat. While they often work out slightly pricier than a set of cheap curtains, they’re easy to slip in and out of any window, so you can get your money’s worth by reusing them in future properties.
Buy now £13.15, Blinds2Go
Kegui Shower Caddy
Best for: bathroom storage
There’s nothing worse than suction bathroom accessories that quickly lose their stick and infuriatingly slide down your tiles after just a few uses. We’re pleased to report that that’s not the case with these useful wire shelves, which rely on super-sticky rectangular adhesive backings rather than old-fashioned suction cups.
Each pack contains two generously sized wire baskets, which are sturdy enough to hold several shampoo bottles, plus a smaller caddy for storing bar soap. We liked that these shelves had small hooks along the sides for holding loofahs and sponges, as well as a generous rim to prevent toiletries from falling in the tub.
We used these shelves for three weeks and didn’t encounter any issues with the adhesive backing coming loose. When we came to remove them, they peeled cleanly off the tiles without leaving any marks or residue.
Buy now £14.99, Amazon
Sibi Rechargeable Under Cabinet Lights
Best for: updating a rental kitchen
If you love the look of bespoke task lighting, this motion sensor strip light is a cheap but effective hack for any rental kitchen. We hung a few of these lights underneath kitchen cabinets to bring some additional visibility to chopping areas, and we were surprised by just how bright they were.
You can either switch the lights off and on manually or set them to auto mode, and they’ll switch on when they sense you’re moving within three metres in a dark environment. This was helpful for late-night water runs; however, the motion sensor could often be a bit hit-or-miss and didn’t always register movement right away.
Installation was easy, and we liked that these lights were attached with a simple adhesive that didn’t damage wooden cabinets. Powered by a built-in 1100 mAh lithium-ion battery, they can be easily slipped out and charged via a USB lead. However, unless you’re sticking to auto mode, they can run out of juice quite quickly, lasting continuously for only four hours.
Buy now £9.99, Amazon
WiZ Smart Lightbulb
Best for: on a budget
If you fancy adding some mood lighting to your bedroom, these affordable smart bulbs will flood your space with a riot of colour. As easy to install as any regular lightbulb, simply select the right type for your light fixture, pop it in and sync it to your WiFi via the accompanying WiZ app.
Once downloaded, the app comes preloaded with a menu of dynamic colour and white light modes, ranging from calming flickering candlelight to flashing disco lights. You can also play around and create your own bespoke colour mixes that you can save and return to in the future.
One of the best features here? You can remotely control the lights from your app, which means there’s no need to worry if you accidentally leave them on. They also pair with Google Home, Alexa and Siri Shortcuts, so you can command them with your voice. The app also lets you schedule your lights to turn on at certain hours of the day, which is useful if you’re on holiday and want to deter burglars. It also displays a neat overview of your weekly energy consumption so you can stay on top of your bills.
Buy now £14.99, Amazon
