Men are more likely to tell their guests if they are breaking the house rules

 - Men are 10% more likely to express their feelings to a guest if they think they are breaking the house rules
 - Nearly a quarter of Brits dislike guests helping themselves to the contents of their fridge

New research has revealed that more than a quarter of men (26%) will tell their guest if they are crossing the line when it comes to house rules, compared to only 17% of women willing to do the same.

Online furniture retailer, Furniture And Choice, surveyed 2,000 Brits to discover the unwritten rules and expectations that homeowners would find most frustrating if guests were to break them in their home.

Of 17 of the most common house rules, Brits would be most offended by a guest searching through their fridge for food without asking, with nearly a quarter (72%) saying they wouldn’t be ok with this.

Interestingly, in a society that is consumed by social media and technology, one in five (21%) would find it rude if a guest asked them for their Wi-Fi password, which increases to a third (33%) among those aged over 65. Sticking with tech, more than two thirds (68%) wouldn’t like it if someone changed the TV channel without asking or if they were on their phone too much (68%).

Top 10 actions considered rude by Brits:

1. Looking through the fridge without being asked (72%)
2. Changing the TV channel without asking (68%)
3. Being on their phone a lot (67%)
4. Allowing their dog to sit on your sofa (63%)
5. Putting their feet up on the sofa (61%) / using their phone whilst having dinner (61%)
6. Burping at the dinner table (58%)
7. Helping themselves to food (55%)
8. Helping themselves to drinks (46%)
9. Leaving the toilet seat up (41%)
10. Not putting their drink on a coaster (37%)

Across the UK, Glaswegians are the most likely to find these types of behaviours rude, including looking through the fridge (89%), allowing their dog to sit on your sofa (82%), changing the TV channel without asking (82%), burping at the dinner table (71%) and putting someone’s kettle on without asking (42%).

Those in Leeds are the least likely to tell a guest when they think they are being rude, with only 15% admitting they would.

While one quarter of Brits (25%) think it’s a sign of comfort to leave the toilet seat up, women are 13% more likely than men to find this action rude, with nearly half (47%) thinking this, compared to just over a third of men (34%).

Interestingly, one in five (17%) 55–64-year-olds don’t have any house rules at all, making them the most relaxed age group, compared to one in ten 18–24-year-olds (8%), 35–44-year-olds (9%) and 45 54-year-olds (9%).

Tom Obbard, managing director at Furniture And Choice commented: “When people move into their own home, they begin to take a new level of pride in what they have worked so hard to achieve. With a new home and furnishings come certain expectations to ensure the best level of care and respect is taken.

“Sometimes our guests break those rules, and it’s interesting to see exactly which house rules Brits can’t stand being ignored. From overuse of their phones to poor table manners, it seems that there are lot of actions that don’t fly among UK homeowners.”

For more information from Furniture And Choice about the house rules you should never break as a guest, please visit: https://www.furniturechoice.co.uk/inspiration/how-to-be-the-perfect-house-guest_a10000231

Published: 30 September 2021