FAQ's

We have 4 easy and flexible memberships to suit your requirements.

1. FREE Guest membership - JOIN
Allows you to search anywhere in Australia but you can not contact home owners. 
See ALL sits listed. This is NOT a restricted list. 
Opt out at any time. Upgrade at any time. 

FULL memberships allow you to contact UNLIMITED home owners VIEW MEMBERSHIPS
2. 4 months - $59 ($14.75 p/month)
3. 12 months - $69 ($5.75 p/month)
4. 18 months - $79 ($4.38 p/month)

Our Guarantee If after 12 or 18 months (depending on membership length) you don’t find any homes to apply for, we will give you $30 back PLUS an extra three months on your membership. Absolutely FREE.
Terms: 1.You must have a detailed profile and a photo to qualify. 2. Not valid if you received a discount when registering.

We do not sell memberships for specific sits, and there are no weekly or monthly fees.
Check out our reviews on Reviews.io

The terms of the house sit are negotiated directly between the sitter and the home owner. They should be agreed upon by the parties. It's best to put them in writing.

All parties should vet each other.

1. Meet before the house sit, where possible.
2. Visit the house and pets, where possible. At least online
If the sit doesn't feel right for you, it probably isn't. Just say thanks but no thanks and move on to the next one. No harm done.

NOTE: All arrangements are between the sitter and home owner. Happy House Sitters is not a party to any house sitting arrangements. 

House-sitting is ideal for you if...

1. You're saving for your first home. 
2. You're renovating
3. You're retired
4. You're travelling
5. You're not sure where you want to live 
6. You love pets
7. You hate paying rent!

We have a broad range of home owners looking for sitters in all phases of life. Our sitters include males and females who are couples, singles, families with and without children, seniors, retirees, and students. People who are renovating, separating, can't decide where to live and those who are travelling with and without their own pets.

In return for living rent free, you agree to keep the property secure, clean and tidy. You take care of any minor maintenance (e.g. gardens, lawns or pool) as well as care for any pets as if they were your own.

House-sits can be any length of time. Most range between two weeks and 12 months. Sometimes longer.

Be as flexible as possible. This increases your chances of getting a home to sit sooner! House-sitting requires flexibility but offers the opportunity to save huge amounts of money.

The truth is, anyone can be a house-sitter. There is no 'type'. Home owners simply want someone they like and trust. Just as you would.

No. We have members from all over the world with us. If you want to house sit in Australia, you're in the right place!

Please download our free ebook. 

You may receive an email and/or text from Scantek asking for an ID Check. It is nothing to be concerned about. Happy House SItters has engaged Scantek to perform ID Checks that are requested by members. This is from a Home Owner who is seriously considering you for their house sit. This is the final part of their due diligence in selecting a sitter to care for their house and pets. Be assured that no details are provided to the Home Owner, only whether the check is successful or not. 

You get to live RENT FREE! If you are currently paying $300 pw in rent, that's a saving of $15,600.00 pa! In return for living rent free you agree to keep the property secure, clean and tidy, take care of any maintenance i.e. gardens, lawns as well as care for any pets as if they were your own loved ones. In most cases the sitter agrees to pay for any utilities used. However, this should only be used a guideline and the actual terms must be negotiated between the sitter and the homeowner.

No house sitting agency can give a 100% guarantee who will get which house sit, because ultimately it's the home owners that choose the sitters and not the agency.

No. You do not need references or a police check to register. However some home owners do ask for character references and police checks when they interview you. 

Police checks can be obtained from any police station or  you can get a police check online at any of the following  sites.

1. Australian National Character Check 

2. Australian Federal Police 

When writing your advertisement, think about the sorts of qualities you would want in looking after your home and pets.
But mostly be honest and be yourself.

Read some previously successful advertisements.

As soon as you register, we will send you a password to access the Members section on this website. From there, you can contact any of the home owners in the areas you have registered.

Happy House Sitters cannot guarantee the period of time it will take to find a suitable house sit, however your password to search the for sits on the 'Members page' is valid for 4, 12 or 18 depending on membership. Your application details are searchable for the length of your membership unless requested by you in writing.

We often have homes in rural areas that we can't fill due to lack of sitters wanting to sit in those areas. So if you feel like escaping the city life and enjoying the fresh air of the country, why not try a rural sit?

Both house-sitters and home owners register as members. The sitter creates and advertisement about themselves and the areas they are interested in. The home owner also creates an advertisement about their home and the arrangement they are looking for. House-sitters and home owners then connect in one or both of the following ways.

1. You search for homes to sit As a registered house-sitter, you can search anywhere in Australia for homes to house sit, and you can apply to sits in the areas you registered. When you find something of interest, you send a message directly to that home owner. (This is your chance to sell yourself as a great house-sitter). When the home owner replies to your message you arrange a time to meet and discuss the house sit.

2. Home Owners search for you Home owners can also search our database for potential house-sitters. If they like the sound of you, they will send you a message to see if you are interested. (It is very important that you are easy to reach. Many home owners will just message the next person on their list if they can't contact you)

1. Value for membership. We have more houses per sitter than any other site. 85% of our ad budget is spent on attracting new home owners to the site. We engage heavily in social media and, over the years, have built a large database of 'repeat' home owners that choose our sitters each time they go away. We surveyed our sitters to see what they thought of HHS: 86% of respondents said they, 'joined or re-joined because there were more sits available compared to other sites'. source - HHS Sitter customer survey - 387 respondents (Oct 13)

2. Our reputation We have been serving the Australian house and pet sitting community since 1999. Please read our testimonials and reviews

3. Our driving philosophy - How we operate Our philosophy to success and longevity remains a mix of old-fashioned customer service and the more home owners you have on a site the more successful your sitters will be

4. Our guarantee to you If after 12 or 18 months you don't find any homes to apply for, we will give you $30 back an extra three months on your membership. Absolutely FREE (does not apply to 4 month memberships)

5. Outstanding customer service Pleasingly, our House Sitter customer service survey revealed: 78% viewed our customer service as either ‘Excellent’ or ‘very good’ source - HHS House Sitter customer service survey - 387 resondents (Oct 13).

6. Flexible memberships 4,12 and 18 month memberships available.

7. Suspend your membership - no time limit on suspension If you are not house sitting or need to rent your membership can be suspended. This can make a 12 month membership last up to 3 - 4 years. Join to contact home owners or join our FREE Trial Search.

Become a full member by completing our registration form. We will then send you an email with your login details. Create an advertisement about yourself. See examples here. Login to the members' section. Here you can search homes available and contact any of the home owners.

Yes. definitely. Members with photos always get a better response than those without. In fact we suggest you upload several. Just take a quick photo with your phone if you dont have one handy.

When a new house sit is posted in your nominated areas we will send you an email alert. We offer two types of email alerts. These can be selected via your account.

1. Real time email alerts - sent when the house sit is posted, or
2. Single daily email alert - A list of all sits posted in the previous 24 hours. Sent between 8-10 am AEST

 

We have introduced a Response Rating for all members - Sitters and Home Owners. Whilst the vast majority of members reply to messages quickly, this feature is designed to encourage a timely response to messages. It also allows other members to know who is the most active on the site. It is not designed to penalise members!

The Response Rating only applies to initial messages. It works like this...

1. Everyone starts with 5 stars.
2. When you receive an initial  message you will receive an email from us advising you have a message. You will also get a reminder at days 1 and 3 post receipt. If the message is replied to within 4 days of receipt nothing happens.
3. If it is replied to more than 4 days post receipt 1 star is deducted
4. If you reply to the next initial message within 4 days of receipt, you regain 1 lost star.

I'm travelling and will be out of phone/Internet range
Reduced Contact function - found in your account under 'My Messages'.

In your account under 'My Messages' there is a checkbox titled 'Reduced contact'. When you click this the words 'Reduced contact' display on your profile instead of stars. This tells other members you are temporarily 'out of range'. It also suspends the Response Rating function so you don't lose stars if initial messages are not replied to within 4 days

It's a good idea. Please download and print this document.

1. House sitting agreement

No. We respect your privacy. Only you can disclose your contact details to prospective home owners.No. We respect your privacy. Only you can disclose your contact details to prospective home owners.

The more qualified you are the better your chance of getting a house sit. Owners love sitters who have put in a little more effort to care for their pets.

We recommend the following online external training courses. 

1. Pet First aid conducted by The Red Cross
2. Pet Sitter Certificate 

We have researched courses that we feel will benefit our members. However, Happy House Sitters is not affilitaed with either of these courses and does not recive any money for recommending them. 

Yes. 12 and 18 month memberships can be suspend when not in use. eg. If you decide to go overseas, rent or become ill and can't house sit. However, they can not be suspend between acceptance of a house sit and it's conclusion. ie. when you are using your membership. 

This feature is unique to Happy House Sitters allows member's accounts to last a lot longer and offers better value for your money.

You may change your details as often as you like free of charge. Just login to your account via the home page.

The most likely reason your emails are not going to your inbox is because email providers set their security levels very high, due to the increasing number of spam emails on the internet. This is especially true of web base providers like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo and Live.

If you believe you are not getting Message Alerts or New House Sit Available alerts. Here's the solution.

Search your All mail, Spam and Junk mail boxes for these subject headings.

Messages
1. New Message Received via Happy House Sitters
2. You have received a new message via Happy House Sitters

New sit available email alerts
1. HS House Available in
2. New house sits posted today

When you locate your emails
1. Move them to your inbox
2. add these emails to your contacts  noreply@happyhousesitters.com.au  and  admin@happyhousesitters.com.au
3. It's also a good idea to create a filter in your email program. 

Still no luck? Please call us on 1300 780 809

Yes. You can request a review from people you have previously sat for on the site and you can upload reviews from previous sits you have done. Both types are displayed in your profile.

Once you become a full member you can contact home owners via our internal email system accessed from your 'My Account' page. This means you can be proactive and don't have to wait around for the phone to ring.

Yes. When home owners who read your advertisement want to get in touch with you, they can contact you via our internal email system.