House Sitting

House Sitting is where a homeowner leaves their house in the care of a house sitter for a period time. The house is entrusted to the house sitter with no rights of ownership to the house sitter. House sitter, in addition to being at the home, performs duties to keep the house in running order e.g., taking care of pets, watering plants, cutting the grass, and collecting the mail, stays at the house rent-free and is paid for this service. Utilities may be paid by the homeowner or the amount used by the house sitter.

The parties should have a meeting of the minds (so to speak) and come to an agreement, preferably in writing. A homeowner would want to enter into this type of an agreement because it is generally believed that the house sitter deters crime. Some homeowner policies require a house sitter if away from the house for a long period of time, and some offer discounts for keeping a house sitter. Check your policy. A house sitter would want to enter into this type of an agreement because of the compensation, and not having to pay rent. Most homeowners also offer per diem (or allowances) for food and personal expenses.

An agreement should detail who the parties are, for what reason the agreement is being reached, the duties of the parties, and no possessory interest will be transferred to the house sitter. A good agreement can do more than protect unlawful sale of the house. It can clarify the duties and responsibilities of the parties. It should address issues that may arise such as what the homeowner can do if the house sitter stops or reduces communications.

To better ensure that the house sitter completes the tasks assigned, the homeowner should provide the house sitter with house sitting instructions, which the house sitter can easily access with important information such as emergency contact information and location of fire extinguishers. This way, in an emergency, house sitter is not running around to find the information. Include in this house sitting instructions duties of the house sitter. This checklist provides easy access and helps to ensure no task is left out. Finally, including emergency permissions with signatures may save bodily harm to persons or pets, or harm to the house. The permissions are for extreme emergencies such as a pet is seriously injured.

Protect yourself with a good house sitting agreement and house sitting instructions.