Britons factor broadband into home moves, survey finds

Hyperoptic has published research suggesting many Britons now factor broadband into home-moving decisions, with almost a quarter saying they would reject a property over the prospect of slow internet.

The survey of 2,000 UK adults who have moved home before or plan to move within the next year suggests connectivity has moved well beyond being a post-move administrative task. Some 45% of respondents said broadband ranked among their considerations when choosing a home, compared with 26% who cited local schools and 51% who pointed to transport links.

That shift is also reflected in how people judge a new home once they arrive. Hyperoptic found 37% do not feel settled until their Wi-Fi is working, second only to heating and hot water at 40% among the factors that make a property feel like home.

The findings also show how far digital access now underpins routine moving-day tasks. Half of respondents said they needed broadband in the first 24 hours to set up utilities or household accounts, while the same proportion cited online banking or payments. Contacting friends or family came next at 37%, followed by streaming television or films at 34% and setting up smart home devices at 33%.

Working from home also featured prominently, with 29% saying they needed a connection immediately for their job. One in five said broadband was important for ordering food, groceries or a takeaway, while 16% said it helped keep children entertained during the disruption of moving day.

Growing pressure

The research points to rising expectations around how quickly a service should go live. Nearly four in five respondents said they expected broadband to be working within two to three days of moving in.

If broadband was not working on arrival, 45% said they would feel frustrated. A further 26% said they would feel stressed or overwhelmed, and 23% said they would feel cut off or isolated.

That creates pressure for broadband providers during the busiest moving periods of the year. Hyperoptic said its own data shows August is consistently one of its busiest months, with new connections 24% higher than in July and 45% above the average for the rest of the year.

The July-to-October period is also consistently the busiest for switching, with One Touch Switch requests up by about 43% during that window in 2025, according to the company. The figures suggest summer moves often prompt households to reassess their provider as well as their address.

In practical terms, that may mean prospective buyers and tenants are checking internet options earlier in the process. Among those surveyed, 23% said poor or slow broadband would put them off buying or renting a property altogether, while another 34% said it would make them think twice.

Lutfu Kitapci, CCO and Managing Director of ISP at Hyperoptic, said the company was seeing broadband move earlier in the decision-making process. "For a long time, broadband was something people sorted out after they'd moved in. It was a job for the first week, like registering with a GP. What we're starting to see is broadband being an earlier step in the moving thought process. It's become a decision about the property itself. People are checking what's available before they commit, in the same way they'd check transport links. Slow connection isn't just an inconvenience, but a reason to walk away from a property altogether for a growing number of people. Our job is to make sure broadband isn't another thing people have to chase once they're exhausted from moving. That means showing up when we say we will, keeping things simple and getting people properly connected from day one."

Why people delay

The research was accompanied by comment from Dr Fuschia Sirois, Professor of Psychology at Durham University, who linked late broadband planning to procrastination rather than simple disorganisation. Her remarks point to a broader behavioural pattern in which people postpone tasks they expect to be stressful, even when the delay creates more problems later.

"Broadband is rarely the exciting part of moving house, so it's not surprising that it's the first thing to slip down the list. That's not down to disorganisation, it's emotional. My research shows procrastination happens when we anticipate a task will be unpleasant, stressful or frustrating. But we often make emotional mountains out of molehills when it comes to such tasks and expect that it will feel worse than it actually turns out to be. So we delay it to avoid that discomfort now, even though we know it'll cost us later. With something like setting up broadband, people often picture a drawn-out, complicated process that will be difficult, when in reality it rarely takes as long or is as unpleasant as they'd feared once they sit down to do it. The problem is that we tend to not be very accurate in our emotional predictions. And our overestimation of how stressful or long or difficult setting up broadband will be drives procrastination. So when we avoid setting up broadband we're actually avoiding these unpleasant anticipated feelings. But remember that moving is a stressful event, and people are more prone to procrastination when things are stressful. So don't be too hard on yourself if you find yourself avoiding taking action. Instead, make use of any support available to reduce uncertainty and stress, to take the pressure off you and your future self," said Sirois.

Hyperoptic has also introduced a monthly rolling broadband offer priced at GBP £29 a month for a 1Gb full fibre service, with no fixed-term contract or activation fee. The move suggests providers are trying to appeal to households that want flexibility immediately after moving, particularly renters or those unwilling to commit to a longer contract while settling into a new home.

The wider picture from the survey is that broadband is increasingly being treated as part of a home's basic infrastructure rather than an optional extra, with 45% of respondents ranking it among their home-buying considerations and 23% saying slow broadband could rule out a property altogether.