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Renter buying guides

Getting Started

New to this? Start here. The three things worth buying first, how to pick a hub, and a renter starter kit that comes off clean at move-out.

If you’re standing at the start of this and it feels like a lot — hubs, protocols, ecosystems, five brands for every gadget — take a breath. A renter’s smart home is simpler than the marketing makes it look, because the one rule that matters filters out most of the noise: if a device can’t go up without drilling and come off clean at move-out, it isn’t for us. That single rule throws out the hard-wired thermostats and the doorbells that need a transformer, and it leaves you with a short, friendly list of things that just plug in, stick on, or screw into a socket you already have.

So what should you actually buy first? For most renters the highest-impact upgrade is a smart plug— it costs the least, installs in literally one second, and instantly makes a lamp or a fan smart. From there the three devices people ask about most are a video doorbell (who is at the door, did my package arrive), a camera for the inside of your place, and a retrofit smart lock that keeps your existing key. None of those four requires a single hole, and each one leaves with you.

The question that trips up beginners is the hub. The good news for a renter is that you very often don’t need one: smart plugs, most bulbs, and Wi-Fi cameras and doorbells connect straight to your router and to an app on their own. A hub only earns its place once you start adding the cheap, reliable sensors that talk over Zigbee or Thread — or if you simply want to run everything by voice, in which case a small Echo on a shelf is the easiest glue there is. We walk through exactly when a hub is worth it, and when it’s money you can skip.

Below are our two starting points: the apartment starter kit, a cross-category bundle — a hub, a doorbell, a camera, a lock and a plug — each chosen for reversibility, and our guide to the best hubs for renters, which starts by asking whether you need one at all. If you want to go deeper on any single category, the doorbell and smart lock roundups pick up where this leaves off. Everything we recommend earns a Lease-Safe rating first.

Everything in Getting Started

Getting-started questions renters ask

What smart home device should a renter buy first?

A smart plug. It's the cheapest thing here, it installs in one second, and it makes any lamp or fan controllable by phone or voice — with nothing fixed to the wall. From there, a video doorbell and a retrofit smart lock are the two upgrades renters get the most out of.

Do I need a smart home hub to get started?

Usually not. Smart plugs, most smart bulbs, and Wi-Fi cameras and doorbells connect straight to your router with no hub at all. You only need one once you add sensors that use Zigbee or Thread, or if you want a single Echo to control everything by voice.

Will smart home gear cost me my security deposit?

It shouldn't, if you stick to reversible devices. Everything we recommend plugs in, sticks on with adhesive, or retrofits over hardware you already have — no drilling and no wiring. The one habit that protects your deposit is keeping any original parts (a peephole, a deadbolt thumbturn) to put back when you leave.

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