House sitting—even the name sounds cosy and inviting, doesn’t it? Along with house warming. Unless you’re Steve Martin in the 90s film Housesitter, in which case it’s a terrible idea. Fortunately for all concerned, the name is as literal and welcoming as it sounds.
How does house sitting work?
Unlike the arguably better-known guardianship schemes, you don’t actually pay any form of rent or accommodation fees to house sit in London. Also with house sitting, you will be staying in a residential property, which could be anywhere in London or the Greater London area and quite likely will need to do a bit of pet sitting too.
For example, you could be in a hipster East-London warehouse, a cosy family home, or—based on one instance we heard about—a Tudor mansion!
The flip-side of house sitting in London is that placements can be sporadic, and longer-term opportunities are less common, as more home owners let out their vacant rooms or properties through Airbnb and the like these days. But house sits are out there, if you’re prepared to do a little research, and are flexible on location.
House sitter Stephanie Ross has been doing stints on and off for upwards of ten years, having stumbled upon it after a year travelling. She found most of her London house sitting opportunities through word of mouth.
“I was being asked to look after people’s dogs, houses, gardens and even fish as well. It worked really well for me, as it meant I had a whole house/flat to myself and it gave me a little bit of independence for one or two weeks, always a good thing when you have had to move back in with your parents”.
Nowadays, there are companies and schemes dedicated to finding house sits in London and just about every other major city in the world.
How to find house sitting jobs London
The fastest way to get going is to sign up to a house-sitting site. The most well-known sites combine house sitting with pet sitting.
The main house sitting website covering London are:
To get started, you’ll need to sign up as a member, and fill out a sitter profile to get going. House sitting as a single person or with partner are both an option; lots of couples do house sitting together, but check details on the house-sitting sites and individual ads too.
On Trusted Housesitters, members are vetted (pun very much intended). To sign up, you must register, fill out a questionnaire to prove you’re pet-friendly, and you should expect to provide references. Once you’re given the thumbs up, you can reply to ads, and filter by location, duration and animal type. You can apply for house sits in many cities round the world too. One of our Tokyo Cheapo team members uses Trusted Housesitters, and has looked after houses with cats and ferrets (separately).
On MindAHome, the average house sits are between one week and four months, but they also have some for as long as six to twelve months.
Members on both sites can browse adverts and express their interest in a sit. It is also free for members to list their availability, so be proactive and put yourself forward.
Consider offering to pet sit for friends and family too, as a raft of good (but honest) references will help get you further house sits. Once a house sitter is registered, it’s up to the home/pet owner to select the person they feel is suited to the placement.
Does it cost anything to house sit in London?
House sitting assignments are generally free, as you’re providing a service, but there might be some sign-up costs involved. Here’s an estimate of what those might come to:
- Membership fees: £15.00–£99.00 for annual fees.
- Background checks: £25.00. Some might ask for a basic disclosure doc, which is a criminal background check.
- References: You can sign up as a newbie, but if possible, offer to house or pet sit for a trusted friend or family member first so you can show some experience.
- Utilities: House sitters are sometimes expected to contribute towards utilities used during their stay for longer sits, but check in with the homeowner.
It’s always advisable to go through tried-and-tested companies first, but you can check out classified ads on Gumtree too, as well as community groups on social media.
In some instances, house sitting can provide a supplementary income, like cat sitting through CatInAFlat, where you set your rate according to your experience. More on pet sitting below…
Long-term house sitting opportunities
According to House Sitters UK, house sits can vary from 1 day to as long as three years. And with more people working flexibly, longer-term house sitting opportunities have the potential to grow too. Trusted House Sitters also has a dedicated long-term house & pet sitting section too, and Mind A Home also has longer term house sits too.
House Sitting without pets
Most house sitting involves pet sitting of some kind, but if you’re allergic to pet fur or not much of an animal lover, there are some options for you. One option is to sign up to a listing site like House Carers.com or register for alerts as they’re posted. Alternatively, Trusted House Sitters, Mind A Home and House Sitters UK all have a ‘no pets’ filter, but expect fewer results.
Can you earn money from house sitting jobs in London?
Most house sitting sites don’t pay for sitters, they’re set up on the principle of free accommodation in exchange for looking after the property and/or the pets that live there.
Some sites will allow people to set small fees on their profiles, but to make money from house sitting in London takes a bit more work, and registering your services as self-employed on sites like Bark.Com (where sitters set their rate and earn between £50.00 – £200.00 a day). Alternatively, look for high-end or luxury house sitting sites where owners might be looking for pro house sitters.
Earn money pet sitting in London
It’s a bit easier to make a bit of cash on the side from pet sitting than house sitting, particularly when it comes to caring for cats and dogs. It can be a good source of supplementary income if you live in London, you can sign up to be a cat sitter with Cat In A Flat for free and set rates according to your experience, or if you want to look after dogs and cats, try Rover.com. The latter also covers dog walking and doggy day care too, but this guide will focus on pet sitting tasks.
Pet sitting typically falls into three main categories:
- Drop in visits (for daytime feeding and fussing)
- House Sitting / Overnight stays
- Boarding (The pet stays overnight in the sitters home)
How much can I earn from Pet Sitting in London?
Rates depend on a few variables, from your level of experience to the complexity of care required and the length of the assignment. (for example, the size of the pet, multiple pets, health issues). But, for example on Cat in A Flat a drop in/1 day visit rate is around £10.00 with overnight stays around £15.00–£20.00 per night. Over on Rover.Com, rates range from £25.00 to £150.00 per night for house sitting (although most are between the £25.00–£50.00 mark) and single drop-in day visits are listed between £12.00–£20.00.
Getting set up as a Pet Sitter
- Register with a site like Cat in a Flat or Rover.Com.
- Complete the site’s verification process (and provide references from previous pet owners)
- Set up a profile and add your rates.
- …
- Profit!
House Sitting helps you get to know the city
When moving to a huge city like London, it can be daunting to pin down a neighbourhood you like. House sitting can give you the chance to explore different areas before you commit to one.
“I love variety and trying new things, so [house sitting] also gave me the opportunity to explore new areas. And the [people I sat for] obviously benefitted from the reassurance that someone was making the property look lived in, and caring for their animals too.” Stephanie Ross, house sitter.
House sitting also gives you some valuable money-saving time and a bit of breathing space to find the right place. By taking short-term assignments, you can take your time to find suitable longer term-flat or house shares in London, and of course save for those deposit and admin fees.
Tips for successful house sitting in London
As with property guardianship, there is a central responsibility in exchange for the accommodation, in this case, pet sitting, and other light household duties like watering plants.
Each advert will stipulate the terms and conditions, which are relatively standard (dog walks, feedings, cleaning out litter trays) but some pet owners have their quirks. One advert we saw included ‘sending cat reports’; presumably, this was just meant to be the odd text or email to reassure the owner that the little fluffball was purring happily, and not a full typed report to be Fedexed.
Jokes aside, updates are not an unreasonable request, and you can have some fun with Pet Skype/Zoom etc, but it might be tricky if you’re looking after an aviary or tropical fish.
Use Storage Space If You’re on the move a lot
You’re likely to be on the move every couple of weeks, so it’s ideal if you’re living out of a suitcase, and don’t have furniture—or you might have to fork out for storage space, which can be expensive. You could be lugging your stuff across town at regular intervals, but you have the bonus of space, and utilities, comfort and privacy from not having to share with others.
House sitting might also be a great alternative to the responsibilities and restrictions of full-time pet care. Most rental properties in London don’t allow pets, and pet care can be costly, so this is an alternative that goes a step further than the very successful Borrow My Doggy scheme, which matches pet owners to volunteer dog walkers.
Pro tip: London’s birds and expensive fish don’t mix, as Stephanie Ross discovered.
“Another homeowner had a pond full of very expensive koi fish, which I had to care for. One day, I happened to be walking past the window to see a heron sat by the pond with one of the poor fish flapping in its mouth. I tried to scare it into dropping its catch but the heron flew off with the fish …. They were really good about it and soon invested in a heron net to go over the pond so it didn’t happen again.”
When are people looking for house sitters
Timing is pretty critical: holiday and travel seasons (Christmas, spring, summer) are likely to be best for assignments, but bear in mind there might also be more people signing up, or travelling to London at these times, so you’ll have more competition. Keep an eye glued to your inbox, if you’re signed up, so you don’t miss opportunity alerts. Also, keep an eye out for professionals who might travel abroad at regular intervals; if you strike up a trusted exchange, it could open up a regular return gig.
Flexibility is favourable too. The more flexible you can be with dates and locations, the more options you will have. Some might be a little further out, in the suburbs so bear that in mind if you’re looking to keep commute costs and times down.
House Sitter etiquette
Most sites have FAQs and tips on how to be a good house sitter. Most of it is just common sense and good manners. For example, they suggest leaving the fridge stocked for the homeowner’s return, and you might be on the receiving end of a welcome pack and some edible treats too.
It may not be purr-fect for everyone, and it’s not the key to long-term accommodation security, but if you’re making your way on the move, and want to sample London life in different neighbourhoods, house-sitting could be a great option for saving cash.
While we do our best to ensure it’s correct, information is subject to change. Post first published in March, 2016. Last updated in May, 2022.
