Renting makes dressing a window awkward. You often cannot drill into the frame or wall, you do not want to risk a deposit on a hole or a mark, and there is little point spending on something you have to leave behind when you move. The good news is that there are made-to-measure blinds built for exactly this: they clip in without screws, come off without a trace, and can move house with you. This guide covers three, and explains how to choose one for a rental.
What a renter actually needs from a blind
Four things, roughly in order. It must leave no damage - no screw holes, no adhesive marks, nothing your landlord can deduct from. It should be removable and reusable, so it comes with you to the next place rather than being written off. It helps if it is affordable, since you are paying for something in a home you do not own. And it has to suit the windows you have been given, which in modern flats and new-builds usually means UPVC double glazing.
That last point is the one that decides which blind to buy, so it is worth knowing your windows before you browse.
Perfect-fit: the renter's best friend
For UPVC windows - the most common type in rented flats - the cleanest answer is a perfect-fit blind. A slim frame clips into the rubber gasket that runs around the edge of the glass, and the blind sits in that frame. Nothing touches the wall, nothing is screwed or glued, and when you leave you simply unclip it - no holes, no residue, no deposit risk. It even reinstalls at your next place if the windows are the same type. For how this compares with the other fixing methods, see our guide on drilling versus no-drill blinds.
The one requirement is that the window is UPVC with a suitable gasket and a recess deep enough for the frame (around 30mm), so check yours before ordering. The three picks below are all perfect-fit blinds.
For windows that are not UPVC
If your rental has timber or aluminium frames, perfect-fit will not clip on. The route there is a tension-fitted roller or Roman blind, which grips inside the recess by spring pressure with no screws - also fully removable and deposit-safe. We cover those, and the difference between the fitting methods, in our guide to no-drill blinds for UPVC windows and beyond.
What to look for
Check the window type and recess depth first. Perfect-fit needs UPVC with a gasket and enough depth; measure before you commit, because it is the one thing that decides whether the blind will fit at all.
Pick the opacity for the room. A perfect-fit frame sits tight to the glass, so a blackout fabric in one blacks out a rental bedroom far better than a standard roller hung above the recess - useful when you cannot fit blackout curtains.
Think about warmth. Rentals are often draughty and expensive to heat. A honeycomb (cellular) blind has insulating air pockets built in, so it cuts heat loss through the glass - a small saving on bills in a home where you cannot improve the windows themselves.
Keep the cost sensible, and keep the parts. You will likely leave or move this blind, so there is no need to overspend. And keep the frame clips, fittings and any packaging, so you can take the blind down cleanly and put it back up at the next place.
Our picks
Laurie Perfect Fit2frame Honeycomb Roller Blinds
at Unbeatable Blinds
A low-cost clip-in honeycomb blind from Unbeatable Blinds - no screws, and it insulates too.
Luna Roller Blinds
at Blinds By Post
A blackout perfect-fit roller from Blinds By Post for darkness without drilling.
Lead Cellular Thermal Roller Blinds
at Order Blinds
A clip-in cellular thermal blackout blind from Order Blinds that helps with draughts and heat loss.
Pick details
Laurie Perfect Fit2frame Honeycomb Roller Blinds
at Unbeatable Blinds
A low-cost clip-in honeycomb blind from Unbeatable Blinds - no screws, and it insulates too.
The Laurie from Unbeatable Blinds is our value pick, and it is hard to beat for a renter: it is the cheapest made-to-measure perfect-fit blind here, it comes in a wide spread of colours, and it is a honeycomb design, so it insulates as well as screens. That combination - clip-in, no marks, low cost, and a little help with a draughty flat's heating - is exactly the renter brief. It clips into a UPVC window's gasket and lifts straight out when you move, leaving nothing behind.
Luna Roller Blinds
at Blinds By Post
A blackout perfect-fit roller from Blinds By Post for darkness without drilling.
The Luna from Blinds By Post is our pick for a rental bedroom, where the job is darkness without drilling. It is a blackout perfect-fit roller: the blackout fabric blocks the light, and because the frame sits tight against the edges of the glass it cuts the side-bleed a normal blackout roller leaves, so the room goes genuinely dark. For a renter who cannot put up blackout curtains or a fixed track, this is the cleanest route to a dark bedroom. Blinds By Post is a different retailer from the value pick, so it is also worth comparing on price and delivery.
Lead Cellular Thermal Roller Blinds
at Order Blinds
A clip-in cellular thermal blackout blind from Order Blinds that helps with draughts and heat loss.
The Lead from Order Blinds is our pick for a cold flat. It is a clip-in cellular thermal blind in a blackout finish, so it does two renter jobs at once: the honeycomb structure traps air to slow heat escaping through the glass, and the blackout fabric darkens the room. In a poorly-insulated rental where you cannot touch the windows, a thermal blind is one of the few things you can add yourself to take the edge off the cold - and it unclips and comes with you. Order Blinds is the third retailer here, giving an alternative source and a price to compare.
A note on your tenancy
None of these blinds damages the window, which is the point - but it is still worth a quick check of your tenancy agreement, and a message to the landlord or agent if in doubt, before fitting anything. Most are happy with a no-damage, fully removable blind, and many will welcome the improvement. Keep any blinds or fittings that were already there, and store the brackets and packaging for yours, so you can return the window to how you found it and take your blind to the next place.