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

bank of england interest rate
Breaking News

Bank of England holds interest rates at 3.75%

The Bank of England has announced its decision to hold the base rate at 3.75%. This decision comes as a result of wider economic uncertainty and inflation (CPI) increasing to 3.3% in March and remaining above the Bank’s 2.0% target. Here are some thoughts from within the property industry.   Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Property valuation leads to agents up 55%

Rightmove, the UK’s largest property portal, has reported a 55% year-to-date uplift in property valuation leads for agents compared with the same period last year (January – May). The uplift follows the launch of Online Agent Valuation in late 2025, designed to help agents engage more effectively with prospective sellers, alongside a series of AI enhancements across Rightmove’s valuation tools. Online Agent Valuation connects agents with motivated homeowners who choose to begin their selling journey…
Read More
Breaking News

Britain’s equestrian homes average value of £1.3m

South East accounts for one in five opportunities The latest research from LandSale, the property portal dedicated to land and rural property, has found that those inspired to enter the equestrian world following Royal Ascot this week will need a budget of £1.265m in order to get started, with the South East home to the…
Read More
Breaking News

Interest-only mortgage stock reduces by 17 per cent in 2025

Key points: There were 445,000 pure interest-only homeowner mortgages outstanding at the end of 2025, 17.7 per cent fewer than in 2024. In addition there were 156,000 partial interest-only (part and part) homeowner mortgages outstanding at the end of 2025, 10.3 per cent fewer than in 2024. The total interest-only mortgage stock (including part and…
Read More
Breaking News

5 building materials that give home sellers nightmares

The latest market insight from House Buyer Bureau has highlighted five building materials that can be a nightmare for homeowners, as they severely impact a property’s value, make it difficult to mortgage, and can prevent them from securing a buyer. House Buyer Bureau analysed some of the most problematic building materials found within UK homes,…
Read More
Breaking News

UK House Price Index for April 2026

The latest UK House Price Index for April 2026 shows that: The average monthly rate of UK house price growth in April was +0.7%. Average UK house price annual inflation was 3.8% in the 12 months to April 2026. As a result, the average UK house price currently sits at £270,080.   Here is how…
Read More