Guide, United States

Home security for renters: no-drill options and what your lease allows

How we wrote this: researched from the official sources listed at the end of the page. State examples are examples, not rules for your state. General information only, not legal advice. Last checked 1 November 2026.

Last reviewed: November 1, 2026

Home security for renters comes down to options that do not need drilling: adhesive door and window sensors, battery cameras, a battery video doorbell on a no-drill mount, a sliding door bar, a door stop alarm, motion lights and a plug-in hub. Before you stick or mount anything, read your lease and ask your landlord in writing, because leases differ and state law differs.

Holdline Provisions sells some of these products, and we say so up front. This guide describes what each one does and what to check. It does not claim that any of them prevents a break-in, and no official source we opened would support that claim.

Read your lease first, and ask in writing

We cannot tell you what your lease allows, and nobody should guess for you. The Texas State Law Library notes that many questions about the landlord and tenant relationship are answered in the lease, and that tenants can try to negotiate terms they do not accept before signing. It also notes that, like any other contract, a lease cannot be changed in the middle of the lease term unless both parties agree. So if you want to add something, get the permission in writing.

State law adds a second layer, and it varies. Two examples, and neither is a rule for your state:

California. The Attorney General lists windows and doors with working locks among the landlord's duties, and says tenants should make repair requests in writing. A lock that does not work is a repair request, not an upgrade.
Texas. The State Law Library lists "security devices like locks and deadbolts" among the rights a Texas lease cannot restrict.

Check your own state's landlord-tenant rules on your Attorney General's or housing agency's site.

A three-line request you can adapt:

> Hi [landlord's name]. I would like to add a [removable door sensor / battery video doorbell] at [address]. It attaches with [adhesive / a no-drill mount], and I will remove it and repair any marks when I move out. > Could you confirm in writing that this is okay? I can send the product page. > Thanks, [your name]

Keep a copy of the reply. If the answer is no, you still have options that do not touch the property, covered below.

No-drill options

Option	What it does	What to check before you buy
Adhesive door and window sensors	A small sensor pair that sounds an alarm or sends an alert when the door or window is opened	The surfaces the adhesive is rated for, and the battery type, both on the product page
Battery cameras	Record video and send alerts to your phone	Whether it needs wifi, whether it records audio, and whether the mount touches the wall
Video doorbell with a no-drill mount	A battery doorbell held at the door without screws	Which door types the mount fits, and whether the doorbell records audio
Sliding door bar	A bar that sits in the track of a sliding door and blocks it from sliding along the track	The track width it fits
Door stop alarm	A wedge placed at the base of a door with an alarm that sounds if the door is pushed	Whether it works on your floor surface
Motion lights	A light that switches on when it senses movement	Battery or plug-in, and where it sits
Plug-in hub	A base unit that connects your sensors and sends alerts to your phone	Which devices it works with, and whether it needs wifi

We make no claim about what any of these will or will not prevent. The product page carries the supplier's specifications. You can browse the options in renter-friendly security, and our guides on security cameras for renters and video doorbells for apartments go deeper.

Cameras and privacy

Some cameras and doorbells record sound as well as video, and sound is where the recording laws apply. Federal law, in 18 U.S.C. 2511, prohibits intentionally intercepting a wire, oral or electronic communication, with an exception for a person who is a party to the communication or has the prior consent of one of the parties, as long as it is not done to commit a criminal or tortious act. Some states set a stricter rule. Washington's statute, for example, covers recording a private conversation "without first obtaining the consent of all the persons engaged in the conversation".

That is two sources and two different answers, which is the point: audio rules vary by state. Before you buy, check whether the camera lets you turn audio off, and read your state's law. The article on whether renters can install security cameras takes it further.

Our advice, which is not a legal rule: aim a camera at your own door and nothing else. Do not point it at a neighbor's window or a shared hallway, and tell your landlord and anyone you share the unit with that it is there.

Protect the network too

A camera is only as good as the network it sits on. The FTC and CISA give plain steps:

Change the defaults. The FTC says to replace the router's default administrative username, password and network name with unique ones, and not to use your name, address or router brand in them. For each device, change the factory-set username and password too.
Use the right encryption. The FTC says to update the router settings to either WPA3 Personal or WPA2 Personal.
Update everything. The FTC says to check the manufacturer's site for newer firmware, keep each device's companion app current, and, if your internet provider supplied the router, ask whether it sends automatic updates.
Turn off what you do not use. The FTC lists remote management, Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) as features that can weaken protection.
Use a guest network for visitors, and turn on two-factor authentication where a device offers it.
Watch the cameras. For IP cameras, the FTC says to check the access logs regularly for unauthorized access, such as unfamiliar IP addresses or odd access times. Disconnect old devices you no longer use.
CISA's four steps: use strong passwords, use multifactor authentication and a password manager, update software, and avoid and report phishing scams.

If your building supplies the wifi, you may not control the router, but the device passwords and updates are still yours.

Monitoring versus self-monitoring

In plain terms, self-monitoring means alerts come to your phone and you decide what to do. Professional monitoring means a company watches the alerts for a fee. The second can come with a contract. We print no prices because we have no price source.

On contracts, the FTC's tips on home security sales, from a release dated April 29, 2011, warn that "free" equipment can come with a long-term and expensive monitoring contract. The FTC says to find out how much it will cost and how often you will be billed, and to make sure the written contract includes every oral promise the salesperson made. It also says its Cooling-Off Rule gives you three business days to cancel if you sign a contract in your home, even if the system is already installed. The FTC's rule page describes the rule as covering door-to-door sales and requiring sellers to disclose the right to cancel.

A lease ends. A contract may not. Check the contract's length against how long you plan to live there. That is our advice, not an FTC rule.

Apartment buildings

Shared entrances, hallways and doors are generally managed by your landlord or the building, so ask management about those areas and read your lease for the rest. That is general guidance and not law. What you can usually handle on your own, subject to your lease, are devices that sit on a shelf or plug into an outlet, such as a plug-in hub or a motion light. Our apartment security system guide covers the building side, and the emergency kit for an apartment covers the other half of being ready at home.

Moving out: what to take, what to repair

The California Attorney General says that if tenants cause damage to the unit, they may be responsible for the cost of repairing it. For most California rentals, it says, a landlord may charge a deposit of up to one month's rent, and within 21 days of the tenant moving out the landlord must return the security deposit. Other states have other rules, so check yours.

Practical steps, which are our suggestions:

Photograph each mounting spot before you install and again when you remove.
Keep the adhesive-removal instructions from the box.
Take every device, mount and accessory with you.
Repair any marks before the walk-through.

If the answer is no

This part is our advice. Ask a narrower question: one sensor on one door, or a doorbell on a no-drill mount, instead of a full system. Offer to remove it at move-out and repair any marks, and put that in writing. If it is still no, stay with the options that sit on a shelf or plug in, and keep the reply on file in case the question comes up again at renewal. If you share the unit, agree with housemates on what is recorded and who can see it.

FAQ

Can a landlord refuse? Leases differ, and we did not find an official source that answers it for every state. Ask in writing and keep the reply. If the answer is no, a plug-in hub or a battery light that sits on a shelf may still fit your lease, and you can ask about those separately.

Can I change the lock? Check your lease and ask first. In California the Attorney General lists working locks on doors and windows among landlord duties, so a broken lock is a repair request. The Texas example above shows the rules differ by state.

What is the deposit risk? The California example above shows the shape of it: damage you cause can be charged. Photographs and repairs reduce the argument.

Next step

Shop renter-friendly security, or start with the pillar guide on home security.

Sources and last checked

All pages opened on November 1, 2026.

California Attorney General: Landlord-Tenant Issues.
Texas State Law Library: Landlord/Tenant Law, Leases, last updated October 21, 2026.
18 U.S.C. 2511 (2023 edition), U.S. Government Publishing Office.
Washington State Legislature: RCW 9.73.030.
FTC: Home Wi-Fi network guidance, December 2022.
FTC: Securing Your Internet-Connected Devices at Home, August 2022.
CISA: four core cybersecurity steps.
FTC press release on home security sales, April 29, 2011.
FTC: Cooling-Off Period for Sales Made at Home or Other Locations.

HUD's tenant rights page opened, but its body text did not load for us, so nothing on this page is taken from it. State recording statutes for California, Florida and Massachusetts refused our requests, so we name only the federal statute and Washington's. State examples are examples, not rules for your state. If you find an error, tell us through the contact page and we will check it against the source.