Renting a poorly insulated home: what you can do without building work
A tenant cannot change the windows, but is not without means: draught-proofing, dense curtains and opening habits act on the same share of heat loss as building work, and none of them requires the landlord's agreement.
The order matters: you treat air leaks first, then cold surfaces, and you heat last. According to ADEME, windows account for 10 to 15% of a home's heat loss.
What a tenant can do without permission
The dividing line is simple: anything that comes off without leaving a trace is yours to do. Anything touching the fabric of the building belongs to the landlord.
| Action | Without permission | Reversible |
|---|---|---|
| Fitting a self-adhesive seal on the sash | Yes | Yes |
| Door draught excluder, removable threshold | Yes | Yes |
| Dense curtain on an existing rod | Yes | Yes |
| Fitting a rod on the wall | Check the lease, two plugs can be filled | Yes |
| Changing glazing, insulating a shutter box | No, that is the landlord's | No |
Draught-proofing first, because it costs least
A sash seal fits in a few minutes and treats the air leak, which is the most poorly counted share of heat loss. The Union des Fabricants de Menuiseries indeed notes that the ADEME estimate does not account for air leakage around windows already installed.
Before fitting anything, locate the leak: the subject is covered in where the draught at a window comes from.
The curtain next, because it moves house with you
That is the argument that counts in a rented home: a curtain is not an investment in someone else's property. It comes down, it follows you, and it keeps its value.
The trade-off is that you have to choose it with the next home in mind. Two practical rules: prefer a height that is easy to shorten over a height that is exact, and a generous width, which adapts to more windows than a panel fitted to the centimetre.
| Type | Weight | What it changes in a rented home |
|---|---|---|
| Sheer or light-filtering | 265 gsm | Daytime privacy, no thermal effect. |
| Plain blackout | 310 gsm | Total blackout, without thermal or acoustic function. |
| Thermal blackout, three layers | 620 gsm | Up to 7 °C difference at the glass and 22 dB attenuated, on the same panel. |
What remains the landlord's responsibility
A home must meet decency criteria, and insulation is part of them. If the window is clearly defective, if the frame no longer closes or if damp sets in, a written request to the landlord is the first step, before any purchase. The measures described here improve comfort; they do not replace a repair that is the landlord's duty.
Frequently asked questions
Can you fit a rod in a rented home?
Generally yes, if it is two plugs that can be filled on leaving. The lease may contain particular clauses: checking takes a minute and avoids a discussion at the final inspection.
Does a thermal curtain really lower the bill?
It reduces the loss through the window, which is a real but partial share of the home's losses. The effect depends on the home, the exposure and the use: we cannot promise a figure, only the order of magnitude of the surfaces treated.
What if the window is in poor condition?
Report it in writing to the landlord. Maintaining the joinery is their duty, and a window that no longer closes is not a curtain problem. The reversible measures remain useful in the meantime.
Can the curtain be reused in another home?
Yes, that is its advantage in a rented home. A generous width and a slightly greater height adapt to more windows, and a height is more easily shortened than lengthened.
The season is gathered on our winter curtains page, and our made-to-measure thermal curtains come down and follow you.
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