How HouseSitList helps make sits safer — and what to look for on your side too, whether you're a homeowner or a sitter.
HouseSitList doesn't broker your sit. You do. What we build is the structure around it that makes trust easier to establish and easier to verify.
What we don't do: pre-vet sitters, run background checks, or provide insurance. Those aren't things we're positioned to do well — see the "coming later" section below for what we're considering.
Most bad sits start with unclear communication before the sit. Almost all good ones start with a lot of communication before the sit. It's the single strongest predictor.
What to talk about, both sides:
Video calls before committing are undervalued and highly effective. Voice + face surfaces things that text messages hide.
There's a chicken-and-egg problem in house sitting: nobody wants to accept a sitter with no track record, but nobody starts with one. So a rule of "only sit with people who have reviews" would exclude everyone from ever starting. We don't want that — and we don't think you do either.
If you're a first-time sitter:
If you're a homeowner considering a first-timer:
Family members get sick. Travel changes. Life happens on both sides. The first response is always open communication — as early as possible, honestly.
If you're a homeowner: keep a spare key with a trusted local friend or neighbour, just in case. Not because you distrust your sitter — but so there's a fallback if the sitter has their own emergency, or if you need someone to check on things.
We're building an Airbnb-style bidirectional review system for our direct listings. The pattern:
This prevents retaliation and encourages honesty. First-timers with no reviews yet are visibly first-timers — not a red flag, just a fact everyone can see.
Address verification: optional identity trust signal. We'd mail a short verification code to the address you list — if you enter it back on the site, we display an "address verified" badge on your profile or listing. Not required to use the platform, but visible when done.
Aggregator feedback: for listings pulled from other platforms, where the actual sit happens elsewhere, we'll let you review the aggregation — was the listing accurate, did the source process feel safe. That way you're helping us make HouseSitList better without us pretending to vouch for something we didn't broker.
We can't intervene directly during a sit — we're not a party to the arrangement itself. But please inform us. We can review flagged messages, take down listings that violate our terms, act on patterns we see across accounts, and point you at the right authorities if the situation warrants it. Email hello@housesitlist.com.