Renters: 12 energy savings that need no landlord permission

KiloWise editorial team · Last updated 5 November 2026 · Category: Renters

Renting does not mean you are powerless over your energy bill. You cannot fit insulation or replace the boiler — those belong to your landlord. But there is a long list of things you can do that need no permission at all: things that leave no mark, change nothing permanent, and come with you when you move out.

This guide lists twelve of them. Every fix below is genuinely doable without landlord permission: if a fix needs permission, it is not in the twelve — it is in the "ask your landlord" section further down, with the numbers to make your case.

The rule: if it leaves no mark and comes with you, it is yours to do

The test for every fix in this guide is simple. Does it change the fabric of the building? No. Does it leave a mark, a hole, or a stain when you remove it? No. Can you take it with you when you move, or put the original back in minutes? Yes. If a fix passes that test, it is yours to do.

Anything screwed to the walls, anything that alters wiring or plumbing, and anything that changes the heating system needs your landlord's agreement — those are in the "ask your landlord" section below, not in the twelve.

One caution before the list: check your tenancy agreement. Most agreements allow the kind of reversible, no-damage changes below, but yours may have a clause about alterations, and some landlords interpret "alterations" broadly. If your agreement bans something on the list, talk to your landlord before doing it — a quick message is cheaper than a deposit dispute. This guide is general information, not legal advice, and tenancy rules vary by country and by contract.

The 12 fixes that need no landlord permission

1. Swap your most-used bulbs for LEDs. Changing a bulb needs no permission, and the bulbs are yours to take when you move. Start with the kitchen and living room, where lights burn longest. Our guide to the LED lighting swap order ranks every room and shows the maths: one 60W halogen swapped for a 9W LED, 3 hours a day, saves 55.8 kWh a year.
2. Switch off standby power at the socket. Televisions, games consoles, printers and soundbars draw power all day while they wait. Switch them off at the socket — or at a power strip with a switch — when you are done for the night. Never switch off the fridge or freezer, and leave anything that records overnight to finish its job. Our guide to how much standby power costs lists what is safe to switch off and what is not.
3. Turn the thermostat down by one degree. You do not need permission to change a setting on a control that is already in your home. Try one degree lower than usual for a week and see if you notice. Heating and cooling are around half of a typical home energy bill (ENERGY STAR), so this is the fix with the biggest potential in the list — and it costs nothing. See our guide to thermostat settings that save money, including the heat-pump exception.
4. Use the heating timer and thermostatic radiator valves you already have. Most rented homes have a timer or programmer and valves on the radiators. Set the heating to come on shortly before you get up and go off before you leave, rather than running all day. Turn down radiators in rooms you do not use. You are adjusting controls, not changing the system — no permission needed.
5. Put a freestanding draught excluder at the bottom of draughty doors. A fabric draught excluder — the sausage-shaped kind you lay against the door — needs no fixing, no adhesive and no permission. It blocks the cold air that slips under the door, and you take it with you when you move. External doors and doors to cold hallways are the ones to check first. See our guide to draught-proofing the cheapest fixes first for the rest of the draught hunt.
6. Hang thick curtains over windows and external doors. Curtains are yours: buy them, hang them on the existing rail or rod, and take them when you go. Close them at dusk to keep heat in, and open them on sunny days to let the sun warm the room. If there is no rail, a tension rod inside the window frame works without screws — check it does not mark the frame, and remove it when you leave.
7. Fit removable window film. Clear window film, the kind that shrinks on with a hairdryer or clings by static, adds a layer of insulation to a single-glazed window and peels off cleanly at the end of winter. It is reversible and leaves no damage when removed properly — but read the instructions and test a corner first, because cheap film can leave adhesive residue on some frames. If the film needs adhesive tape that might damage paint, or if your agreement bans window coverings, ask your landlord instead.
8. Put a reflector panel behind radiators on outside walls. A foil-faced panel slipped behind a radiator bounces heat back into the room instead of letting it warm the wall. The panels are cheap, they need no fixing, and you can lift them out when you move. They help most on radiators fitted to cold outside walls; on internal walls the gain is small.
9. Shorten showers and use the cold wash. Water heating is about 18% of a typical home's energy use (US DOE), and most of that is heating water you then let run down the drain. A shorter shower costs nothing and needs no equipment. Washing clothes on a cold cycle and running full loads rather than half loads cuts both the water-heating and the machine's energy.
10. Use lids on pots and the kettle for the water you need. Cooking is a small share of the bill, but the habits are free. A lid on a pot brings water to the boil faster. Boiling only the water you need in the kettle, rather than filling it every time, saves a little on every cup. A microwave uses less energy than an oven for reheating a single portion — use the right tool for the job.
11. Stop the fridge and freezer wasting energy. You cannot move or replace a landlord's fridge, but you can run it well: do not overfill it, let food cool before putting it in, and keep the door closed rather than standing with it open deciding what to eat. If the fridge has a temperature dial, a middle setting is usually right — and never switch the fridge off to save power, which spoils food and costs more than it saves.
12. Track your usage and run the bill audit. Read your meter once a week and write the number down, or check your supplier's app if you have a smart meter. A weekly reading shows you within a month whether a change you made actually moved the needle. Run the bill audit tool with your own bill: it works out where your money is going and ranks the savings for your home, in your currency, at your rate.

Ask your landlord: the fixes that need permission

Some of the best savings need your landlord's agreement, because they change the building. That does not mean you should not ask — landlords benefit too, because insulation and efficient heating make the property more valuable and easier to let. The way to ask is with numbers, not with complaints.

Insulation. Loft insulation, wall insulation and floor insulation are the biggest long-term savings in most homes, and all of them are the landlord's job. If your home is cold despite the heating being on, mention it in writing: heating and cooling are around half of a typical home energy bill (ENERGY STAR). Check whether any grant or rebate applies to landlords before you write, so you can point your landlord at the help available.

Draught-proofing that sticks. Adhesive draught strips, brush seals and sealant around window frames are cheap and effective, but they stick to paint and woodwork, and removing them can pull paint off. That is why they belong here rather than in the twelve. Ask for them by name, and offer to have them fitted professionally if the landlord prefers.

A smarter heating control. A programmable thermostat or smart thermostat can cut heating waste, but fitting one means touching the wiring — landlord's permission, and usually a qualified installer. If your heating has only a basic dial, ask whether the landlord would consider an upgrade, and mention that setback settings can save up to 10% a year on heating and cooling (US DOE) — an upper figure, not a promise, but a useful one in a letter.

Double glazing and a better boiler. These are the big ones, and the ones a landlord is least likely to do on a single request. Raise them when the tenancy renews or when the boiler is due for replacement anyway, and keep the ask short: what you are asking for, why it helps the property, and whether any grant or rebate applies. A polite, written request with a reason is far more likely to succeed than a complaint about the cold.

When you move out: leave it as you found it

Every fix in the twelve is reversible, and the move-out routine is the proof. Take your LED bulbs with you and refit the old ones from the labelled box. Take the draught excluders, the curtains, the window film and the radiator panels — they are yours, and they will save you money in the next home from the first week. Remove the tension rods and any removable film, and check that no adhesive residue is left behind. Put the thermostat and the heating timer back to the settings you found, and take a photograph of each room as you leave it.

Leave the property as you found it, and take your savings with you — the bulbs, the draught excluder and the curtains start working again the day you move into the next home.

Related: run the bill audit tool with your own bill, then read our guides on draught-proofing the cheapest fixes first and thermostat settings that save money.

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