How to limit bandwidth using my router

I have tenants living in my house—which means I currently have five different computers all fighting for bandwidth on my router at once—and I'm wondering if there's a specific router out there that allows for speed regulation. Basically, I want to set a hard cap on their maximum speed so I can ensure I have the rest of the bandwidth left over for myself. I know software solutions exist, but since I can't install anything on their hardware, that isn't an option for me. I’ve heard there are routers built specifically for this kind of control, but I'm having trouble locating them... if anyone could suggest some specific models or brands, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

You’re going to need a wireless router that actually supports QoS (Quality of Service). Here are a few options to look at. I can't guarantee they're all sitting on a shelf at Best Buy right now, but at least you'll know what specs to hunt for.

Sure, that stuff exists, but most people consider it prosumer gear. It usually doesn't come with a built-in modem and you'll definitely need to spend some time learning the OS. It’s just not a "plug-and-play" consumer gadget where you click two buttons and you're done.

Take Cisco Systems, for example—they have some killer features. I actually saw someone using a Raspberry Pi
recently.
They make smaller gear too, just check their site. They've got forums and tons of examples. Honestly, this Cisco IOS is incredibly powerful; you can set up all sorts of limits, even schedule them or apply them to specific groups or individual computers... you just have to know your way around it. And hey, you can always just pay them to "type it in" for you if you want.

Thanks—I’m wondering if limiting my bandwidth and blocking torrent ports will actually help my ping, or if that’s just a wasted effort. I might be asking something silly here—I'm admittedly quite out of the loop on this stuff. I probably should have mentioned that I’m currently using a Sony ST-series (Comcast) setup, which lacks those specific settings—it’s frustrating that it isn't just a matter of a few simple clicks 🙂.

If that doesn't fix the ping issue, my only real move (if I'm not mistaken) would be to get two routers and two separate phone lines to ensure some peace of mind—though it's a bit more expensive—not excessively so. I’ll be switching over to AT&T soon, so before I sign any contracts, I really need to know which path is the best one to take.

That Cisco gear I mentioned? It runs two totally separate networks. Each one has its own SSID and password. One is strictly wireless, while the other handles both Wi-Fi and hardwired connections. I’ve bumped up the speed on the preferred mixed network—maybe around 10 Mbps—and set a minimum bandwidth floor there too. The second one is basically semi-public (for neighbors and clients) and can't touch those priority resources; open services are up to you. Honestly, it all requires a bit of scripting, unless you want to pay an expert to handle it...
In my opinion, if you're seeing lag, it probably has more to do with the quality of the copper lines, how far you are from the central office, or the ISP itself rather than your local setup.

The setup with two dedicated lines and two separate routers is definitely the pricier route. Plus, who knows if the ISP can even find an extra line for you or if they'll even bother running it? Ideally, to make things easy for tenants, they'd just get their own connection and pick a premium bundle—phone, internet, TV—rather than messing around with shared access.

That Thomson unit is pretty old school. It's a basic, "flat" device like the ones ISPs hand out—you just tweak it for their specific services and call it a day.
I'm not sure what providers are pushing lately, but most don't put much effort into it. I think maybe only H1 offered something like Fred!, which is actually a decent piece of hardware.
At the end of the day, this is really about your local network and whether your router can actually handle the crowd. Just pick a bandwidth package from the ISP that fits your needs, use their box strictly as a modem, and run everything else on your own gear. The big perk? The ISP won't be poking around in your settings without you knowing.