Which apartment upgrades come off without costing your security deposit?

Summary

Start with changes you can remove, such as plug-in lamps and suitable tension fittings, but check each product's installation requirements. Freestanding furniture can still need wall restraints, and a plug-in pendant may need a ceiling hook. Holes, adhesive residue or new paint can become a deposit issue if they count as damage beyond normal wear and tear. The lease and the law where you rent both matter. This page uses New York's statute as an example; it does not establish how another state or a particular apartment will be treated.

Start with changes you can remove

For each option, check both how it is installed and how it is removed:

• Furniture and storage can leave with you, but confirm the manufacturer's wall-restraint requirements before treating a freestanding piece as a no-drilling option.
• Tension fittings avoid screws; confirm the opening, load and surface requirements for the product.
• Floor or table lamps plug into an outlet without replacing a fixture.
• For mirrors and art, follow the maker's mounting or restraint instructions rather than assuming that leaning them is suitable.

A plug-in pendant hangs from a cord and plugs into the wall, so no electrical wiring changes. This site's list of plug-in pendants runs from $190 to $265 across four Rowabi options, prices read on Rowabi's pages on 2026-10-07:

If a suitable ceiling support is permitted and the 180-inch cord reaches along the planned route, compare Rowabi's $190 Dreamy Palm for a 14-inch shade, using the 2026-10-07 price. Confirm the required bulb with Rowabi. The list suggests two lights for a two-person home, so two of those pendants come to 2 × $190 = $380; that count is a planning allowance, not a guarantee of room coverage.

Running them costs little. This site estimates 25 kWh a year for one person's lighting, and at the US average residential rate the list uses, $0.1834 per kWh for June 2026 from EIA, that is 25 × $0.1834 = about $5 a year, an estimate rather than a meter reading.

A pendant still needs something to hang from, though. "Plug-in" removes the wiring but not necessarily the ceiling hook, and a hook is a hole. Ask the pendant maker about a suitable support and installation method; an existing curtain rod is not verified here as a support for the light.

Changes to ask the landlord about

The risky changes are the ones that alter the surface itself:

• Paint. A wall color you love is a surface the landlord may need to restore, and many leases address painting directly.
• Adhesives. Peel-off hooks, wallpaper and contact paper are sold as removable. Whether they come off cleanly depends on the paint, the surface and how long they stayed up. Residue or lifted paint is exactly the kind of mark a landlord may argue goes beyond normal wear.
• Holes. Picture nails, curtain brackets, TV mounts and shelf screws all leave something behind. The number and size of the holes, and what the lease allows, decide whether patching becomes a deduction.
• Swapped fixtures. Replacing a ceiling light or faucet involves the building's systems, so read what the lease says before you touch one.

Anchoring can be necessary even for furniture you plan to take with you. Tall dressers and bookcases can tip, so follow the restraint instructions and ask the landlord in writing about the holes before installing them. Keep any written approval and the agreed repair requirements; asking the question alone does not mean permission was granted.

What a landlord may deduct

Every state writes its own deposit rules. California's are in Civil Code section 1950.5, Texas's are in chapter 92 of the Property Code, and New York's are in General Obligations Law section 7-108. This page quotes the New York text, read on 2026-10-23; the other two states word their rules differently.

New York lets a landlord keep "reasonable and itemized costs" for four things: unpaid rent, "damage beyond normal wear and tear," unpaid utility charges payable directly to the landlord, and moving and storing belongings the tenant leaves behind. The landlord may not deduct for "ordinary wear and tear" or for damage caused by a prior tenant. The statute also puts the burden on the landlord to prove that the amount kept was reasonable.

Whether a nail hole, a patch of peeled paint or a strip of leftover tape counts as wear or as damage depends on the facts. If it comes to a dispute, that is a question for someone who can apply the law to your apartment.

The moving-and-storage item applies to furniture too. A bookcase you leave behind because it would not fit in the next place can turn into a charge.

Getting the deposit back

Because New York bars deductions for damage a prior tenant caused, a record of the apartment's condition on the day you move in is how you show that a mark was already there. Take dated photos of the walls, floors and fixtures before the furniture arrives. Do the same after you remove every hook, rod and bracket and patch whatever the lease asks you to.

In New York, the landlord has 14 days after the tenant leaves to return the deposit along with an itemized statement of anything kept. Under the statute, a landlord who misses that deadline forfeits the right to keep any of the deposit. Other states set their own deadlines and procedures, so read the statute for the state where you rent, or ask a local tenant resource.

For anything you would rather not risk, the lease is the place to look first. If it is silent, ask the landlord before you drill or paint. For furniture you intend to take with you, check removal and restraint requirements as well as the lease; this site's cost page and product lists price that kind of piece room by room.

Sources

• New York State Senate: General Obligations Law section 7-108
• Cost of Comfort: Apartment furniture product list (Rowabi prices read 2026-10-07; EIA rate)