Renter-friendly light switch controls

A smart switch that replaces the one in the wall is out of reach in most rentals - it is an electrical alteration. That leaves three renter routes, and all three leave the building's switch exactly as it was.

• Press it. A small device sticks beside the switch and physically pushes it on command. Works with any bulb.
• Cover it. A dimmer mounts over the switch, locks it on, and controls smart bulbs instead. Nobody can cut their power by accident.
• Stand in for it. A battery switch sticks to the wall beside the old one and controls smart bulbs or plug-in dimmers wirelessly.

The wider renter smart-home approach is in renter-friendly smart lighting.

SwitchBot Bot - the pick for any bulb. It sticks beside a rocker switch and presses it, so whatever bulbs are in the fixture now become app-controlled. Up to 600 days per battery with typical use, and voice control once you add a SwitchBot Hub.
Cons: Bluetooth only without the hub; switching only, no dimming; push-pull switches need an add-on.

Lutron Aurora - for Philips Hue behind a toggle switch. It fits over an existing toggle switch, locks it on, and becomes a rotary dimmer for Hue bulbs - up to 12 without a Hue Bridge, on a coin cell rated about three years or more.
Cons: Hue bulbs only; scenes and schedules need a Bridge; designed around toggle switches.

Philips Hue Dimmer Switch - a stick-on switch for Hue. Adhesive, screws or a magnetic surface, and it lifts off its plate to use as a remote. Up to 10 lights without a Bridge, 50 with one. Whether Hue is worth buying into is in is Philips Hue worth it.
Cons: Hue lights only; without a Bridge the buttons cannot be changed.

Lutron Pico remote - for lamps. Paired with a Caseta plug-in lamp dimmer, a Pico gives a lamp a real wall switch with no wiring, driving up to ten Caseta devices with no hub and a published ten-year typical battery life. More options are in wireless wall remotes.
Cons: it controls Caseta devices, not ordinary bulbs.

Ordinary bulbs you want to keep: the SwitchBot Bot, because it works the switch itself and does not care what is in the fixture.

Philips Hue bulbs: the Aurora over a toggle switch, or the Hue Dimmer Switch stuck beside any switch. Both stop the classic smart-bulb problem of someone cutting the power - explained in smart bulbs vs smart switches.

Lamps: a Caseta plug-in lamp dimmer with a Pico on the wall - the renter version of a wall dimmer.

Removing adhesive at move-out: warm it with a hair dryer and peel slowly. Keep the original switch plate untouched throughout, and nothing about the building has changed.