From a motion light that finally makes the back door feel less dark to the honest question of whether a monitored alarm is worth $40 a month, home security is mostly calm, boring decisions made in advance — not fear. These tools compare the real costs, rank the door-and-window fixes that matter, sanity-check the actual break-in numbers for your neighbourhood, and walk you through trips, rentals, packages and pets step by step. Most break-ins are opportunistic: lock the opportunity, keep the receipts, sleep properly. The full detailed report costs less than a coffee: $2.95.
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Renting is the great excuse for insecure homes: the best fixes assume you own the walls, and the landlord controls the rest. This guide splits the honest options into three layers. First, the no-drill list that needs no permission: sliding-door bars and track pins, window track stops, adhesive door and window alarms where the paintwork allows, shelf cameras, floor wedge stops, and a key safe for spares. Second, the written request to the landlord — working locks on all exterior doors and windows are a repair in most jurisdictions, and deadbolts, window locks, exterior lights and a peephole are legitimate requests that often get approved because they protect the landlord's property too. Third, protecting yourself: contents insurance with theft cover, valuables out of street view, and a photo-documented restoration when you move out so the bond dispute never happens.
⚡ Free instant check
Secure a rented home without losing your bond — the no-drill and low-damage options that actually work, what you can ask the landlord for, and the honest line between a rental you can improve and one you cannot.
Why it matters
The renter's dilemma is real: most security upgrades assume you own the walls, and the best fixes (new deadbolts, reinforced frames, cameras wired in) are exactly the ones landlords resist — but a surprising amount of security needs no drilling at all.
The no-drill honest list is longer than people think: temporary adhesive door and window alarms ($10-$30), a security bar or track pin for sliding doors, a floor-wedge door stop, furniture or a dowel in the window track, a smart camera that sits on a shelf, and a key safe or code lockbox for spares.
The conversation with the landlord is a legitimate security request, not a favour: in most places you can ask in writing for deadbolts on exterior doors, window locks, an exterior light and a peephole or doorbell camera — many landlords agree because it protects their property too, and some will split or cover the cost.
Renters should also know their rights baseline: in many jurisdictions the landlord must provide working locks on all exterior doors and windows — if the lock is broken or the window will not lock, that is a repair request, not an upgrade request.
The mental model that helps: secure what you can without damage (your possessions, your door from the inside, your routines), request what needs the landlord (structural locks, lights, repairs), and remember most burglars avoid occupied-looking, well-lit, hard-entry homes regardless of who owns them.
Your checklist
Do the free audit first: do all exterior doors have working deadbolts or solid locks, and do all ground-floor windows actually lock? If not, that is a repair request in writing to the landlord.
Ask in writing for the structural items: deadbolts, window locks, an exterior light at the main entry, and permission (in writing) for anything you plan to install.
Fit the no-drill layer: sliding-door bar or pin, window track stops or dowels, adhesive alarms on the main entry if the paintwork allows.
Sort the key situation: rekey or re-code if you did not get every key back from previous tenants (ask the landlord), and use a key safe rather than a mat spare.
Secure the stuff, not just the door: valuables out of street view, tools and bikes locked, and an inventory with photos for insurance.
Get contents insurance with theft cover — in a rental it is the difference between a bad week and a ruined year.
When you move out, restore everything you installed and photograph the restoration — bond disputes are won with photos.
❓ Rental Security Options: No-Drill Fixes That Work — FAQ
What security upgrades can I do in a rental without permission?
Plenty: sliding-door security bars and track pins, window track stops or dowels, a floor wedge for the door, adhesive alarms (check the paintwork first), cameras that sit on shelves, and a key safe instead of a mat spare. The bond-safe rule is simple: nothing that drills, screws or permanently sticks.
Can I ask the landlord to improve security?
Yes — in writing, and frame it as protecting their property. In most jurisdictions working locks on exterior doors and windows are the landlord's responsibility (a broken lock is a repair request), and many landlords will approve or split the cost of deadbolts, window locks and exterior lights.
Should renters get contents insurance?
If you rent, contents insurance with theft cover is the difference between a bad week and a ruined year — the landlord's insurance covers the building, not your stuff. Check the deductible and any caps on jewellery and cash before you rely on it.
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