Betta, Betta

Everyone has a vision of their dream home: a beautiful fitted kitchen with the latest gadgets, cosy bedrooms and stylish décor. The only problem is, for many, the prospect of actually owning a home is just that: a dream.

It’s no secret that there’s a lack of affordable housing in the UK. More people are renting than ever before, and those who do own their home may have to come up with more inventive ways of covering their mortgage payments. One increasingly popular idea is renting out a spare room, a trend which The Guardian reports is growing by 23 per cent each year. It’s an attractive prospect, which begs the question: how do you make sure you’re passing a set of keys to the perfect living partner?

Navigating the world of prospective living partners can be tricky, especially when homeowners have so many different preferences. So, we decided to survey the nation to find out just what makes the perfect living partner. From their gender and job to hobbies and habits, we wanted to find out if it all really matters. As it turns out, it does!

Below, you can find out what our investigation uncovered about domestic 'likes’ and ‘dislikes’; they certainly reveal some interesting insights into the nation’s homeowners. Professor Craig Jackson, Head of Psychology at Birmingham City University, said of the results:

“The survey results show there is a paradox when looking for potential living-partners – we seem to want people who are just like us (age, habits, personality), but at the same time we also want that person to be ‘better’ than we are with no faults or flaws. That can be quite an unrealistic way to go into the relationship with a living-partner.

“It’s also clear that people know what they do not want and what they do want – and these should be communicated openly and honestly from the beginning.

“Respondents may not be aware of it, but they do want some kind of social-reward from their living partner (and many may not acknowledge this). The idea of a living-partner who is out all of the time or always hiding in their room is clearly NOT what people would like, so they need to be honest in that a living-partner might be there to fill a social gap, too.”

Do you agree with our findings? Or do you have your own preferences when it comes to a potential living partner? We’d love to hear about your nice-to-haves and no-no’s – leave us a comment below!