Moving home still tops the stress level chart – beating having a baby, marriage and job interviews

52% of the nation feel moving home is one of the most stressful life events and with the additional requirements of social distancing and other pandemic based procedures, it’s just got a whole lot more stressful. When it comes to moving, 28% find it more stressful than having a baby, getting married, going to job interviews, doing a driving test. It also beats waiting for what was the biggest elephant in the room to leave until COVID-19 arrived – Brexit.

One of the reasons for this, according to new research by the home setup service Just Move In is, 44% of movers spend up to three hours just swapping their utilities over.

Just Move In reduces the stress and hassle of the home moving process by recommending the best essential services and doing the leg work for you. Freeing you up to focus on the important parts of moving, like remembering to take the kids, face masks and hand sanitiser with you.

The latest survey of home movers by Just Move In found that 52% of those asked ranked moving home at an eight or above on a scale of one to 10 when asked how stressful they found moving – with 10 being the most stressful.

When looking at the most stressful aspects of moving home itself, 49% of people found packing the most stressful part, followed by transferring your services and updating existing utility providers (27%).

With everything that needs organising for a smooth and successful home move, it comes as no surprise that transferring services and utilities ranks so highly, with 44% of movers spending over 30 minutes on the phone to each supplier. With council tax, water and sewerage, gas and electricity, TV and broadband, phone and insurance as a minimum, that’s more than three hours spent on the phone. Time that could be spent on other things – like binge watching Netflix.

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most stressful, how stressful was moving home?
How stressful
% of respondents
1
1%
2
2%
3
4%
4
4%
5
8%
6
10%
7
18%
8
27%
9
13%
10
12%
Rank the following on which you have found the most stressful
Life Event
% of times ranked 1st
Moving home
28%
Job Interview
21%
Driving Test
20%
Having a baby
16%
Getting Married
11%
Waiting for Brexit
5%
Thinking about moving to a new home, what was it that you found most stressful?
Task/activity
% of respondents
Packing
49%
Setting up new services (e.g. internet) in my new home and updating my address with current utility providers
27%
Organising a removal service
10%
Updating friends and family with my new address
1%
Other
13%
How much time would you typically spend calling your council, water and sewerage provider, gas and electricity provider, TV and broadband provider, phone provider and insurance providers?
Time taken
% of respondents
Less than 10 mins
8%
Between 10 and 30 mins
34%
Over 30 mins
44%
N/A as I did this online
14%

Properganda PR

National and local media coverage for property businesses. Journo quotes delivered in minutes.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Breaking Property News 20/8/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Why Angela Rayner Housing Secretary is in the wrong job – again   A smile, bluster and vague soundbites will not solve the UK housing crisis  Thought Leadership by Andrew Stanton – CEO Proptech-PR  ‘I have been involved in the UK property industry since the mid 1980’s…
Read More
Breaking News

Buyers Looking Beyond London

London new-build demand plummets behind commuter belt as buyers look beyond the capital   Demand for new-build homes in Essex more than three times higher than in London, while Hertfordshire faces supply squeeze amid growing buyer appetite   The latest research by UK Property Development has revealed a growing divide between London’s new-build market and…
Read More
Finance

Top six tips for first-time buyers

Independent mortgage broker, Flagstone Financial, has outlined key advice for first-time buyers, pointing to flexible options as signs of an improving mortgage market.   With high loan-to-value lending (80–95%) becoming more widely available, the property ladder is more accessible than in recent years, and experts at Flagstone Financial, partner of the Beresfords Group, are advising…
Read More
to let sign 2025
Breaking News

England’s rental stock surges by as much as 86.6% in a year

Rental listings have almost doubled in Tyne and Wear since August 2025, with Greater Manchester and a host of other markets also recording double-digit growth   The latest research from Propoly has revealed that England’s rental listings have climbed by an average of 7.4% in the past year, led by an 86.6% increase in Tyne and…
Read More
Breaking News

One in five homebuyers have been ‘catfished’

The latest research from House Buyer Bureau has found that, with the rise of A.I, “homebuyer catfishing” is becoming an increasingly familiar experience for UK buyers, with one in five saying they viewed a property where the listing photos had been digitally enhanced to make the home appear better than it actually was. However, while the…
Read More
Letting Agent Talk

Only 31% of letting agents confident their onboarding process protects against tenancy fraud

The latest research from Propoly has revealed that just 31% of UK letting agents are absolutely confident that their tenant onboarding process protects against tenancy fraud, as lengthy onboarding times and delays with referencing continue to create challenges for the industry.   Propoly surveyed UK letting agents to understand how long tenant onboarding currently takes,…
Read More