Frequently Asked Questions From Clients

Our house sitters, based in Berkshire, have been looking after happy animals and all kinds of homes for over 20 years. All our sitters are carefully chosen animal lovers. We make sure all our sitters are matched up with the right home, choosing the person who’ll know how best to look after your home. We’ve grown from humble beginnings through words of mouth, mainly. If you do a good or a bad job, people talk, so we’re really glad to have the seal of approval from our previous clients.

No! We charge an all-inclusive daily rate. No hidden costs here! The main exception to this is where horse care is required, which we’ll discuss during our “getting-to-know-you” call. If you do have a large entourage, however, we may ask for an additional payment, which is passed directly to the sitters. All of this will be explained up front, so you’re not caught out later on.

If you’d like to, then absolutely! Our sitters are mainly retirees and mutual trust is the backbone of any arrangement we make with you – it’s really important to us that you feel comfortable letting the sitter into your home, feeling confident that they’ll leave your pace as they found it and the sitter needs feel comfortable that they can do this too. We’ve been connecting sitters and homes for a long time now, so you can be sure that we’ll find the person who’s right for you.

The sitter’s main job is to care for your pets and provide a presence in your house while you’re away. They play by your rules, which we’ll establish before they set foot inside. When it comes to pets, they’ll feed, walk, exercise and groom. For the home, they can water plants, sort your mail (never opening any, of course) and carry out light household and gardening duties. As our sitters are mainly retired, they tend to fill their time with pastimes such as reading or completing crossword puzzles. They are also permitted to leave the property during daylight hours, for up to 3 hours at a time, which gives them time to stretch their legs and explore their surroundings.

All of our sitters are animal lovers and have owned pets themselves. Prior to the assignment, we ask you to lay out an all-inclusive routine for your pets. That way, we can select the best sitter for the assignment and also make sure that we carry out your instructions to the letter, so you have happy pets when you return home. Our sitters have such a great reputation that it’s not unusual for us to hear that the pets are missing their sitters long after they’ve left!

Your insurance of your property, contents and pets continues during your absence. Providing proper insurance cover is down to you and is detailed in the Company’s Terms of Business, which is agreed by both parties before any assignment is arranged. Housesitters Ltd is a registered company with Public Liability Insurance.

Some of our clients book months ahead of their departure, but we know that, sometimes, life happens at the eleventh hour. We always try to accommodate last minute bookings – even those with only a couple of days’ notice. If we have availability, we will accept your booking, but we do recommend getting in early if you can!

The sitter will almost always us their mobile phone or leave cash for any personal calls they may have to make.

That’s not abnormal at all. We take the security of your home really seriously, so we need to be in control in your absence, and we take full responsibility for ensuring that doors and windows are kept closed and locked. We do, however, understand that, sometimes, you’ll have scheduled visitors, such as housekeepers, cleaners, gardeners, window cleaners and workmen. If that’s the case while you’re away, it’s so important that you tell us who is due to visit when making a booking, along with any disruption that may occur, so that we can advise the sitter accordingly. As we said, the safety of your property is of the utmost importance.

Our sitters are all capable and sensible, having been home-owners themselves for many years. Should the unthinkable happen, there are telephone numbers the sitter can use for support. These numbers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We ask all of our clients to complete a check list which includes, for example, the location of your fuse box and stop cock, information about your vet and much more, so we have plenty of info about your home should an emergency occur. We will try to sort out any problems that might arise but, in extreme circumstances, we’ll be sure to contact you to update you on the situation and how we’re solving it.

Absolutely not! Our sitters do this work because they love animals and being in different places. We choose our sitters based on their personalities, making sure that they’re the sort of person you’d trust to spend time in your home and not go snooping where they’re not wanted. They will not pry into anything which does not concern them, or try to operate any piece of equipment if they are not sure what it’s for or if you do not want us to use it.

Nope. The food allowance in the price is for one sitter and we don’t think it’s fair to have to charge you extra because they want to bring their spouse. If you agree to their partner coming along, they provide their own food.

No chance. Sitters are instructed to meet family or friends away from the home during their 3-hour period of absence. It wouldn’t be right for them to use your home as a meeting room.

Sitters provide their own food. However, clients are usually happy for them to use the basics like Salt, Pepper, herbs and spices, for example. Clients have the choice to either request that the sitters bring their own bed linen and towels or to provide them. If you provide the bed linen and towels, the sitter will make sure to clean and launder them before you get back.

It is very common for sitters to be quite green fingered and enjoy a bit of light gardening. Our sitters will be happy to water any plants you may have, including those in pots and tubs and indoor plants. We are also happy to care for veggie patches and greenhouses.

Only if you want them to. Some clients may ask that the sitter use their car, either to give it a quick run around, or if the sitter’s car isn’t suitable for the property. Housesitters Ltd cannot accept any liability or responsibility for any incidents involving a client’s vehicle and this, unfortunately, wouldn’t be covered under our insurance. Any arrangements must be made between the sitter and the client.

If you’re looking for a quote, or to find out if we have any availability on certain dates, either email us on info@housesittersltd.co.uk, or get in touch through our contact page and we’ll be in touch soon!