House-Sitting Guides

1. Guides for House Sitters

If you’re interested in learning the basics about house sitting, including what it involves, how to get started and the pros and cons, my guides below have got you covered.

 2. Join a Top House-Sitting Website

If you’re keen to start living rent free or want free travel accommodation as soon as possible, the two best house-sitting websites that I recommend joining are Aussie House Sitters (Australia only) and Trusted Housesitters (wordwide sitting).

These sites are great for travellers or digital nomads, as you can specify a wide range of areas that you’re interested in staying in.

Please note that if you join through my links, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. You can read a bit more about these sites below.

3. Paid House Sitting Jobs

If you’re thinking of house sitting in your local area, rather than for travel purposes, I’d thoroughly recommend charging for your services. This is standard in Australia and expected by most home owners.

There are plenty of websites you can join to find paid pet-sitting jobs in Australia. You set your own rates, but the sites handle the money between you and the owner and also provide insurance. I have completed over 200 paid house sits through MadPaws since 2016, and also get paid to feed cats, walk dogs and look after puppies in their homes.

My blog posts below explain how much you should charge and why, as well as some misconceptions about paid house sitting.

4. Guides for Home Owners

If you’re a pet owner and want to know how to find a house sitter or how to prepare for one, I’ve listed everything you need to know in my guides below. Scroll down to the next section for links to my recommended websites for finding a house and pet sitter.

5. Find a House Sitter Now

If you’d like to start looking for a house sitter immediately, here are links to my recommended house-sitting websites for pet owners. Please note that if you book through some of these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you, which helps me to keep producing free content for this site. Thank you!

Option 1: Local, Insured Pet Sitters in Australia

With MadPaws and PetCloud, you’ll find local, vetted sitters in Australia, who will attend a meet and greet before accepting the booking and can work for you time and again to form a relationship with your pets. These sitters normally have their own home and aren’t travelling, so they charge a fee for their services rather than working for free accommodation.

The websites provide public liability insurance for the sitter, as well as accident cover for your pet. They also handle the money between you and the sitter, and only release your payment after the job is completed. You can also book locals for a range of other services, including daily home visits to feed pets, dog walks, doggy day care and hosting pets overnight in sitters’ homes instead of yours.

Option 2. Free House Sitters Internationally & in Australia

Aussie House Sitters and Trusted House Sitters are great sites to find house sitters who will accept free accommodation as payment for pet sitting, instead of charging a fee.

The sitters are usually travellers, or have decided to house sit to save money for a while instead of having their own place. Here’s more about my recommended house-sitting websites below.