Top tips for safe and responsible house sits during COVID-19

Given the health and safety risks posed by COVID-19 (Coronavirus) our top priority is to support our members who are currently committed to house and pet sit whilst also providing up to date information for members considering new opportunities.

If you’re continuing with a planned house sit or considering a new opportunity, it’s important to ensure that you follow local authority and government guidance on social distancing and sanitisation in order to enjoy a successful house and pet sitting experience.

For more information please carefully review the following guide on how to conduct safe and responsible house sits.

Recommendations for home owners

• Do not go ahead with a planned sit or advertise a new listing if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 or believe you have been in contact with anyone who has symptoms within the last two weeks.
• If you are considering listing a new opportunity, help to keep everyone safe by looking for local sitters who can fulfil the role rather than international sitters who must travel internationally to sit for you.
• Consider how best you can familiarise your sitters with your home and pets remotely and welcome them on their arrival without the need for face-to-face contact. This could include a video call to orientate them around your property and sending written details of their responsibilities sent via email before their arrival. You could consider leaving house keys in a pre-arranged location as well as scheduling a video call to check in with them once they are settled into the role.
• If you have shy or timid pets, consider whether they will adjust to strangers in your home without you there to comfort them initially. It might help to organise a socially distanced walk in a local park with the sitter before they take over the sit in order to minimise your pet’s distress when you leave.
• Homeowners are asked to sanitise their property prior to their departure focusing on communal surfaces such as door handles, light switches, and remotes, and shared facilities like bathrooms and kitchens. 
• Communicate with your sitter prior to their arrival and ensure they are comfortable with everything you have detailed. Be considerate of any concerns they may have and do your best to accommodate any reasonable requests.
• It’s also important to consider how you and your sitter would be able to respond to a quarantine requirement or restriction of movement coming into force during the term of the sit. We recommend that you discuss this with your sitter and agree a protocol prior to the start of the sit.

Recommendations for house sitters

• If you are planning to house and pet sit, consider avoiding public places for a period of 14 days prior to your trip to minimise your risk of travelling with the infection.
• Do not go ahead with a planned sit or accept a new invitation if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in contact with anyone who is unwell in the past two weeks.
• If possible, get tested for COVID-19 48 hours before you travel.
• Communicate with the homeowner via video chat in the days leading up to your sit to confirm your arrangements and ensure that both parties are comfortable with what has been agreed.
• Be considerate of any concerns the homeowner may have and do your best to accommodate any reasonable requests. In turn, ensure that you are happy with what has been proposed and confident that you are able to conduct a safe and responsible sit.
• In the event that a sit is cancelled, under no circumstances should sitters pressure owners to go ahead with a sit or provide them with accommodation.

Considerations prior to travelling to a house sit

• It is advisable to familiarise yourself with local public health guidelines and COVID-19 restrictions in place at the location of the sit including any requirements for travelling into other states/territories.
• We recommend that sitters should be completely independent of the owner and not rely on help from anyone else to complete the requirements of the sit.
• Sitters should also consider the impact of a possible restriction on movement (lockdown/curfew) and/or a quarantine requirement being imposed at the location of the sit or in their home region. Due to this we recommend that sitters and owners agree on a protocol should either come into effect during the term of the sit.

Managing a safe house sit handover

• We recommend that you arrange for a contact-free handover with the homeowner and suggest that you request a written guide to your responsibilities and an orientation of their home via video prior to your arrival.
• Keys should be left in a prearranged safe location and returned here on your departure.
• Homeowners are asked to sanitise their property prior to their departure, however, it is advisable to conduct your own clean of communal surfaces such as door handles, light switches, and remotes, and shared facilities like bathrooms and kitchens when you arrive at the property.
• Sitters should also maintain cleanliness throughout their stay and conduct a thorough clean of the owner’s property prior to their departure, paying particular attention to communal areas.
• It is important that you alert the homeowner and anyone you may have come into contact with during the sit should you develop symptoms of COVID-19 or become unwell within 14 days of returning home.

Stay up to date with the latest changes of the rules and restrictions in your state or territory and our house-sitting community can begin to thrive again, safely.

• New South Wales: https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19
• Australian Capital Territory: https://www.covid19.act.gov.au/home
• Queensland: https://www.covid19.qld.gov.a
• Victoria: https://www.vic.gov.au
• Tasmania: https://coronavirus.tas.gov.au
• South Australia: https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au
• Northern Territory: https://coronavirus.nt.gov.au
• Western Australia: https://www.wa.gov.au