House sitting is a simple swap. Someone with a dog, two cats and a greenhouse needs to go away; you need somewhere to stay. They get their routine kept, you get a bed, a kitchen and a reason to linger in one place for a fortnight instead of two nights.
The catches are real. You'll be up at seven for a nervous rescue greyhound, you'll discover the boiler has a mind of its own, and you'll be doing all of it in a stranger's house with their neighbours watching. Done well, it's the cheapest way you'll ever travel.
What the arrangement actually involves
Most sits are unpaid. No money changes hands: you cover your travel and food, the owner covers their bills and anything the animals need. A few sits come with a small payment or a contribution towards costs, usually for long stays, remote places or animals with demanding needs. Treat anything that pays as a different arrangement, with different implications for tax, insurance and — abroad — your right to work.
Typical duties: feeding and walking, litter trays, medication, plants, bins, post. Sometimes a pool, a garden, chickens or a horse. Read the listing twice. If it doesn't mention the horse, ask.
Finding reputable platforms
TrustedHousesitters, MindMyHouse and House Sitters UK are among the best known, and most countries have their own equivalents. Which one suits you depends on where you want to go and what you're willing to pay for membership. Before you hand over card details, check:
- Reviews in both directions. A site where owners and sitters review each other shows you far more than one where only half the picture is public.
- Identity checks, ideally including a video or phone step before a sit is confirmed.
- Clear rules on contact. Reputable platforms keep early messaging on their own system, and no genuine owner asks a sitter for a deposit or a holding fee.
- A support line that answers. Send an awkward question about cancellations and see who replies.
- Plausible listings. No photos of the pet, no reviews, a vague address: move on.
Local Facebook groups and word of mouth are useful for short sits near home. Just be more careful when nothing stands behind the arrangement but a profile photo.
Writing a profile that gets replies
Owners are choosing someone to sleep in their house and look after the creature they love most. They aren't choosing the most interesting applicant; they're choosing the safest one.
Be specific. "I love animals" means nothing. "I grew up with two lurchers and have looked after a diabetic cat who needed insulin twice a day" means everything. Name the animals, their ages, their quirks, their medication. If you've never had a pet, say so and explain what you have done instead — shelter volunteering, fostering, regular dog-walking for a friend.
Use three or four photos of yourself, at least one with an animal. Skip the sunsets. Keep the text short enough to read on a phone, and include what owners scan for: non-smoker, happy to walk in the rain, can drive.
When you apply, write to that sit rather than sending a template. Use the dog's name. Answer the question they didn't ask — how long you'd be out of the house, whether you work remotely, what you'd do if the cat went missing. Two short paragraphs is plenty.
Before you say yes
Ask for a video call, then work through these:
- How long can the animals be left alone, and where do they sleep?
- What are the vet's details, and who pays in an emergency?
- What food and medication routines exist — and what if the pet refuses to eat?
- Who else has keys, and will anyone visit while you're there?
- How do the alarm, heating and bins work? Does anything regularly break?
- What would make them cancel, and what would they do if you fell ill?
Get the answers in writing, even if it's only a message thread you can scroll back through.
Insurance: the part people skip
Your travel insurance may not cover damage you cause inside someone's home, and your own home cover won't help you abroad. Public liability is the one to look for — it's what protects you if you flood a kitchen or a dog you're walking causes an accident. Some platforms include a basic level of cover; read what it actually pays, what the excess is and what's excluded.
Ask the owner to check with their insurer that having a sitter won't affect their policy. Most are fine with it, but it's their call. And if you're sitting abroad, check the entry rules before booking flights: tourist permission rarely allows paid work, and anything that looks like employment causes genuine trouble at borders.
For anything touching money, tax or visas, take proper professional advice. A forum is not a substitute.
A sit works when all three parties — owner, sitter and animal — end up feeling they got the better end of the deal.
Starting small, and getting invited back
Begin close to home. A weekend with a neighbour's cat teaches you more than a month of reading listings, and it earns you a first review. Then a short local sit, then something longer. After two or three good reviews, invitations start arriving instead of you chasing them.
Do the small things unasked: a photo every day or two, the bed stripped before you leave, the kitchen cleaner than you found it, a note about anything that went wrong however minor. Owners remember that, and returning sitters get first refusal on the next trip. That's how a cheap holiday turns into a routine.
Photo: Jakub Zerdzicki / Pexels
