Quiz
How happy are you with your home?
Your home does not have to be perfect to make you happy. It does need to work for the life you live in it. Take Tepilo's two-minute home happiness test to look at location, space, storage, light, comfort, condition, noise, neighbours and whether the property genuinely feels like home.
Original campaign: March 2018 · Restored and updated: 28 August 2026
Archive note: Tepilo first published a home happiness survey and quiz in March 2018. The reported survey findings are preserved further down this page. The original quiz questions and scoring could not be recovered reliably, so the live test uses a new and transparent 2026 scoring system.
The home happiness test
Answer nine questions about your home as it is today, not how you hope it will feel after the next renovation. Each answer is worth 0 to 3 points. Your maximum score is 27.
Free test. No signup required. Answers stay in your browser unless you choose to save them elsewhere.
How the scoring works
Add the nine answers to produce a score out of 27. The 2018 coverage confirms that Tepilo's original quiz used the result names Home warrior and Home wrestler. The score bands and the two additional result names on this page are part of the new 2026 test, not recovered historic scoring.
| Score | Result | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 23 to 27 | Home warrior | Your home works well for you. Focus on maintaining what you value. |
| 17 to 22 | Home improver | The foundations are good, but one or two changes could make daily life noticeably better. |
| 10 to 16 | Home wrestler | Several parts of the home are creating regular frustration. |
| 0 to 9 | Home rethink | Your home is not meeting several important needs. Deal with health or safety concerns first. |
What Tepilo's 2018 home happiness survey found
In March 2018, Tepilo research reported that 88% of people were happy or very happy with their homes. Bungalow residents were reported as the happiest homeowners by property type.
The surviving reports show that happiness was not only about a newly fitted kitchen or a large renovation. Location, usable space, light, neighbours and familiar personal possessions all mattered.
What people valued about their homes
| Feature | 2018 survey share |
|---|---|
| Location | 62% |
| Size of the home | 46% |
| Garden | 46% |
| Natural light | 32% |
| Good neighbours | 29% |
The smaller things that made a home happier
| Item or action | 2018 finding |
|---|---|
| A comfortable sofa | 56% |
| An open fire or stove | 26% |
| Framed photographs of loved ones | 26% |
| Fresh flowers | 20% |
| A deep clean | 18% |
What made people less happy
| Frustration | 2018 finding |
|---|---|
| Not enough storage | 19% |
| A dated kitchen | 16% |
| A tired bathroom | 14% |
Installing a new kitchen was the improvement people across the UK most often thought would make them happier. In London, adding a bedroom came first.
60% of people living in five-bedroom homes said they were very happy, compared with 26% of those in two-bedroom properties.
Respondents estimated that they would need to spend an average of £21,376 to make themselves even happier with their homes. That figure belongs to the 2018 survey. It is not a current renovation-cost estimate.
These percentages should be preserved as Tepilo's historic consumer research, not treated as official housing statistics.
2026 update: are people still happy with their homes?
The latest detailed English Housing Survey findings reported that 87% of households were satisfied with their accommodation, while 7% were dissatisfied and 5% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
The wording and methodology are different from Tepilo's 2018 survey, so the two percentages should not be used as a trend.
In 2024 to 2025, the English Housing Survey found that 94% of owner occupiers were satisfied with their accommodation, compared with 81% of private renters and 75% of social renters.
Condition and comfort make a measurable difference
The 2024 to 2025 survey found that 22% of households with damp were dissatisfied with their accommodation, compared with 6% of households without damp.
Among households unable to keep comfortably warm in winter, 23% were dissatisfied. The figure was 5% among households able to keep warm.
Government damp and mould guidance makes clear that serious damp and mould can be a housing hazard.
Your home is only part of the picture
Home happiness is not a medical measure of wellbeing. The English Housing Survey's multivariate analysis found that wellbeing was associated with several household and personal factors, not simply the property itself.
Should you improve your home or move?
- Can the main problem be changed? Storage and decoration usually can. Location and plot size usually cannot.
- Would the change solve the real problem? A new kitchen will not make a difficult commute shorter or create another bedroom.
- Is the improvement worth the cost and disruption to you?
If moving is a serious option, first estimate your home's value and use Tepilo's cost of selling a house calculator. If you expect to sell, get your home sale ready before putting it on the market.
Sources and restoration notes
- Ideal Home: Sarah Beeny's home happiness test
- House Beautiful: homeowners and happiness at home
- AOL: people living in bungalows were the UK's happiest homeowners
Current context was checked against the English Housing Survey and government damp and mould guidance. Current figures were last reviewed on 28 August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
- What makes people happy with their home?
- Tepilo's 2018 survey found that location, the size of the home, the garden, natural light and good neighbours were important. Smaller details also mattered, including a comfortable sofa, photographs of loved ones, flowers and a clean home.
- How can I make my home happier without spending much money?
- Start with the lowest-scoring part of the test. Decluttering, moving furniture, cleaning windows, improving lighting and displaying personal items can help without major expense. Fix leaks, mould, electrical concerns and other safety issues before cosmetic changes.
- Does a bigger house make you happier?
- More space can help when a home is genuinely overcrowded or lacks privacy. Bigger is not automatically better. It may also bring higher purchase, energy, maintenance and council tax costs.
- Should I renovate or move house?
- Renovate when the central problem can be solved at a cost and level of disruption you accept. Consider moving when the main issues are location, plot, fundamental layout or a shortage of space that cannot be addressed sensibly.
- Can renters take the home happiness test?
- Yes. The questions apply to owners and renters. Renters may have less control over alterations, so the result should distinguish changes they can make from repairs or hazards that need to be reported to the landlord.
- Is this the original Sarah Beeny home happiness quiz?
- It is a transparent restoration inspired by Tepilo's original 2018 feature. The historic findings and the reported Home warrior and Home wrestler labels are preserved. The exact original questions and scoring were not recoverable, so the nine-question scorecard and score bands are new for 2026.