1. Put a peel-and-stick splashback over tired kitchen tiles
The wall behind a hob or sink is usually the ugliest surface in a rented kitchen: grouted in the nineties, stained, and impossible to get properly clean. Peel-and-stick tile panels cover it in an afternoon and lift off later with heat.
Buy vinyl tile stickers or 3D gel panels rather than the very thin printed film, which bubbles and peels at the edges within months. A kitchen splashback typically needs 10 to 20 panels at $2 to $4 each, so around $40, CA$55 or £30 for the run.
Preparation decides whether it lasts. Degrease the existing tiles thoroughly with hot soapy water, then wipe with rubbing alcohol and let it dry completely — adhesive fails on cooking grease, not on tiles. Measure and mark a level pencil line for the first row, because a splashback that starts 3 mm out of level is visibly crooked by the far end.
Peel only the top third of the backing, position the panel, press it down from the centre outward with a credit card, then pull the rest of the backing as you go. Cut around sockets with a sharp craft knife and a metal ruler, leaving a 2 mm gap so the faceplate covers the edge.
Leave a small margin around the hob itself. Vinyl near direct heat softens and discolours, so finish the panels a hand’s width clear of the burners and leave the original tile exposed there.
To remove at the end of the tenancy, warm each panel with a hairdryer for twenty seconds and peel slowly at a shallow angle. Any adhesive residue comes off with a cloth and a little cooking oil, then a degreaser.