My first London Bathroom was 1.4 metres wide. The basin had a pedestal that ate the only useful floor space, the toilet seat had hairline cracks the previous tenant had clearly papered over, and the shower head dribbled like a tired tap. I lived with it for fourteen months because I assumed fixing any of it would cost me my deposit.
It wouldn't have. The five upgrades below all undo cleanly — most of them in under twenty minutes with a single screwdriver — and three of them don't require drilling at all. None of them tops £90.
If you only buy one piece: a soft-close square toilet seat at £18.45. It's the single highest-impact thing you can do to a knackered rental loo, and it comes off in a minute when you move out. Tighter budget? The £10.99 5-mode shower head screws on without tools.
The picks
1. The 90-second shower fix — 5-Mode High-Pressure Shower Head, £10.99
Rental showers in the UK are usually one of two evils: a tired electric unit or a mixer running off a system that hasn't been descaled since the Olympics. The fix is the same in both cases — replace the head. The 5-mode chrome head is a tool-free unscrew-and-swap, ships with a 1.5 m hose, and the laser-pierced jets squeeze a real burst of pressure out of even a tepid combi. Keep your old head in a Tesco bag under the sink for moving day.
- Pros: No tools, fits standard ½" UK threads, five spray modes including a proper rain setting, hose included.
- Cons: The body is plastic with a chrome finish — looks fine, but won't take a knock the way a metal head would.
- Best for: Anyone in a flat where the shower has lost its will to live.
2. The deposit-safe loo swap — Square Soft-Close Toilet Seat, £18.45
Old toilet seats are grim — chips you can't quite scrub out, hinges that have gone yellow, and the slam. The heavy-duty square soft-close seat is the upgrade that gets the most "oh, that's nice" from house guests, despite being the cheapest piece of furniture in the room. The one-button quick-release means you actually can clean under the hinges, which is more than I can say for any seat that came with a flat I've rented. Heavy polypropylene, stainless hinges, wrap-over lid.
- Pros: Soft-close hinge, quick-release for Cleaning, fits most standard square pans, anti-bacterial plastic.
- Cons: Square seats don't fit oval pans — measure your bowl's bolt-to-rim length first. A round-pan version exists if yours is curved.
- Best for: Any rental where the seat predates the boiler.
3. The freestanding storage that follows you — 3-Tier Bamboo Bathroom Rack, £26.99
If your landlord has banned drilling outright, this is the rack to buy. The 3-tier bamboo rack can be wall-mounted or freestanding, takes 21 kg total across the shelves, and the bamboo handles bathroom humidity better than the cheap MDF racks you'll find in supermarkets. Three adjustable shelf heights mean you can fit a tall shampoo bottle on the bottom and a stack of folded flannels on top.
- Pros: No drilling needed when freestanding, real bamboo with a water-resistant coating, footprint stays under 30 cm wide.
- Cons: Bamboo will silver and spot if your bathroom doesn't ventilate — open a window, run the extractor.
- Best for: Renters who move every twelve to twenty-four months and don't want to leave their storage behind.
4. The pedestal-sink lifesaver — High-Gloss White Under-Sink Cabinet, £84.99
Pedestal sinks are pretty until you realise they're storing nothing. The high-gloss under-sink cabinet has a 20 x 23 cm 'U' cut-out at the back that slots round the pedestal, hides the trap, and gives you a three-level adjustable shelf inside for the loo roll mountain. Anti-tipping straps come in the box; if you've got a curious toddler or a cat that climbs, fix them. Otherwise it's a free-standing piece you can lift out on moving day.
- Pros: Wraps round the pedestal pipework without modification, 30 kg load, the gloss white reflects what little light a small bathroom gets.
- Cons: Particleboard with a melamine coating — fine in a ventilated room, but don't site it where shower spray will hit it daily.
- Best for: Anyone with a pedestal sink and nowhere to put the spare loo paper.
5. The wall cabinet that earns its drilled holes — Walnut Herringbone Wall Cabinet, £36.99
If your tenancy lets you put up shelves with sensible Rawlplugs, the walnut herringbone wall cabinet is the prettiest small fix on this list. It's a tall narrow unit (good for over-the-loo or beside the sink), has one adjustable internal shelf plus an open bottom display, and the herringbone door pattern looks far more expensive than £36.99 deserves to. I've owned mine three years and it's outlasted two flats. The walnut tone reads warmer than the gloss white above — useful if your bathroom's already running cold and tiled.
- Pros: Slim under-60-cm footprint, looks proper next to brassware, includes wall-fixing kit.
- Cons: Particleboard core means you should not over-load it — keep heavy bottles on the lower shelf and skincare on top.
- Best for: Tenants whose contract permits two screw holes for a clearly removable fitting (and who fill the holes with white toothpaste on moving day, like the rest of us).
The verdict
If I had to start tomorrow with one budget, I'd buy the loo seat, the shower head and the bamboo rack first — that's £56.43, all reversible, and it changes 80% of how the room feels. Add the under-sink cabinet next month if you've got a pedestal basin, or the walnut wall unit if you don't. The only thing that'd push me to spend more is replacing the tap, and even then I'd wait until I owned the place.
By Sarah Chen for Villalta Home, May 2026
