Most smart home guides assume you own the walls. If you rent, the calculation is different: nothing can be drilled, nothing can be wired in, and everything has to come off cleanly when the lease ends. The good news is that the pieces that actually change how a home feels — lights that dim on a schedule, a door you can check from the bus, a plug that kills the iron you left on — are all renter-safe. Here is a five-piece starter kit for a Canadian apartment, in the order we would buy it.
Start with one smart plug
A smart plug is the smallest possible change with the largest payoff. It sits between the wall and a lamp, a fan, a coffee maker, or a space heater, and it gives that ordinary device a schedule and a voice. The lamp comes on at dusk so you never walk into a dark apartment. The heater switches off at 2am whether or not you remembered. On your way to work you glance at your phone and confirm the iron is actually off.
The Socketa Smart Plug handles this for a single device. If you want to bring a whole corner of the room under control — lamp, speaker, charger — the Wattnest Smart Socket covers a zone. Neither needs a hub. You plug it in, connect it to Wi-Fi once, and forget it is there.
Add light you can actually control
Overhead apartment lighting is usually a single harsh fixture on a wall switch. You do not need to touch it. A Glowrail RGB LED Light Strip runs along the back of a shelf or under the bed frame and peels off without marking the paint. Set it warm and low for the evening, brighter for cleaning, off at bedtime on a schedule. If you would rather replace a lamp entirely, the Chroma Quantum Lamp becomes the main light source and the mood light in one object.
The shift is subtle and then permanent: the apartment stops having two states, "fluorescent" and "dark," and starts having the light you want for the hour you are in.
Put the front door on your phone
Renters are often told they cannot have a video doorbell. Most landlords are fine with one that clamps to the existing frame or mounts with adhesive and leaves no holes. The Chimewatch 1080P Video Doorbell is battery powered, so there is no wiring to the chime, and it sends the video to your phone. You see the parcel arrive. You tell the courier to leave it with a neighbour without getting up. You know who knocked while you were out.
Pair it with a Sentrilatch Door Sensor on the entry door and you get a quiet notification every time it opens — useful for a roommate situation, a dog walker, or just the reassurance of knowing the door is shut.
Automate the curtains
This is the piece people underestimate. A Drapio Smart Curtain Robot attaches to the curtains you already have. It opens them slowly at your wake-up time so you come up with the daylight instead of an alarm, and closes them at sunset for privacy and heat. Nothing is replaced, and it lifts off in seconds on moving day. If your window uses a wand or a track, the Draperbot Curtain Robot does the same job.
Tie the TV and fans together
The last piece is a Beamora Universal IR Remote. It learns the infrared signals from the remotes you keep losing — the TV, the air conditioner, an older fan — and puts them in the same app as everything else. Now "goodnight" can mean lights off, TV off, AC to 22, curtains closed, in one tap or one sentence.
What this kit costs and what it does not require
- No drilling. Every piece plugs in, clamps on, or uses removable adhesive.
- No contract. Nothing here has a monthly fee. You buy it once.
- No hub for the basics. Plugs, strip, doorbell and curtain robot connect straight to Wi-Fi.
- Nothing left behind. The whole kit fits in a shoebox when you move.
You can build it one piece at a time. Start with the plug and the light strip this month, add the doorbell before winter, and let the curtain robot be the thing that finally makes the mornings feel different. Browse the full range in Automations and Living.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Alexa or Google Home to use a smart home starter kit?
No. Every device in this kit works from its own app over Wi-Fi. Voice assistants are optional and can be added later if you want hands-free control.
Will a video doorbell damage my rental door frame?
The Chimewatch doorbell mounts with adhesive or a clamp bracket and is battery powered, so there is no wiring and no screws. It removes cleanly. Check your lease, but most landlords have no issue with a no-hole install.
What smart home device should I buy first?
A single smart plug. It is inexpensive, takes two minutes to set up, and immediately solves a real problem — a lamp on a schedule or the ability to confirm an appliance is off from anywhere.