HOW TO HIRE · PERSONAL & LIFESTYLE

How to hire a house sitter in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No licence applies to house sitters in any UK nation. Here are the checks that matter, the questions to ask before you hand over keys, and what the agreement should say.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a house sitter in five steps

  1. Meet the house sitter at your homeBefore the dates are fixed. You see who will be living there; they see the alarm, the pets and the stopcock.
  2. Ring two references yourselfPeople they have house-sat for recently, by phone. Ask how the house and the animals were left.
  3. Ask for a basic criminal record checkNot required by law, but a sitter can request their own from DBS, Disclosure Scotland or AccessNI and show it to you.
  4. Put the sit in writingDates, nights in the house, pets, extras, the daily rate, cancellation, and who holds which keys.
  5. Keep pets at home unless the boarder is licensedA sitter in your house needs no licence. Your dog going to their house as a business is boarding, and that is licensed.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register covers house sitters in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and caring for your pets inside your own home is not a licensed animal activity. The English statutory guidance on home boarding says so in terms: a business that looks after a dog where it normally lives, as a dog sitter does, needs no licence.

Rely on references you phone, photo ID that matches the booking, and the written agreement.

Animal licence if your pet goes to their house

If the house sitter offers to take your dog to their own home instead, that is boarding. In England, home boarding dogs as a business needs a council licence under England's 2018 animal activities licensing regulations. In Wales and Scotland the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963 requires a council licence for a business boarding other people's animals, and it counts a private house as premises.

Ask for the licence number and the issuing council, and confirm it with that council's licensing team. gov.uk →

Basic criminal record check (self-requested)

No law makes a house sitter hold one. Someone who will live in your home while you are away can request their own basic check — DBS in England and Wales, a Level 1 disclosure from Disclosure Scotland, or an AccessNI basic check in Northern Ireland — which shows convictions that are not spent.

Ask to see the certificate and match the name and photo to their ID. gov.uk →

Insurance — the sitter's and yours

No register sets an insurance level for house sitters, so ask whether they carry public liability cover. Then read your own home insurance policy for what it says about an empty home and about someone else staying while you are away.

Ask for the sitter's insurer's name, and check your policy wording before you confirm the dates.

VAT

House sitting is standard-rated at 20% when a VAT-registered business supplies it. An individual house sitter under the £90,000 registration threshold does not charge VAT and has no VAT number to give, so the nightly or daily rate you agree is the whole price.

Ask the house sitter whether they are VAT-registered; an individual under the threshold should add no VAT to the rate. gov.uk →

“Will you sleep in the house every night, and how long will it be empty in the day?”

A good answer: Nights in the house, a rough pattern for the day, and the same thing in the agreed list of work, priced at the agreed rate. "I'll pop in" is visits, not a house sit.

“Can I ring two people you have house-sat for recently?”

A good answer: Names and numbers offered without fuss. Ask them whether the routine was kept and how the house was left.

“Do you have a recent basic DBS, Disclosure Scotland or AccessNI check?”

A good answer: A certificate in the house sitter's own name, ideally from the last year. It is optional, so one that is offered says something good.

“What will you do for the pets, and would they ever leave the house?”

A good answer: Feeds, walks and medicines on your schedule, at home. If a dog would go to the sitter's own house, ask for the boarding licence.

“What happens if there is a leak, a break-in or an animal falls ill at the house?”

A good answer: They know where the stopcock and the fuse board are, who they ring first, and the vet you have authorised them to use.

“How will you handle the keys and the alarm code to my house?”

A good answer: Keys counted out and back in writing, codes kept off the key fob, and the keys returned to you in person.

“Will anyone else stay or visit while you sit?”

A good answer: A firm no, or a named person you have met and agreed to. A partner or friend mentioned only at handover is a reason to stop.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate for the hours or nights booked, and a higher rate for weekends, bank holidays and extra pets
  • The minimum booking, the hours of the handover at each end, and what is paid if you come home early
  • The list of jobs agreed before the first night: pets, plants, post, bins, heating checks, and how many hours the house sitter may be out each day
  • What each side brings: you pet food, cleaning things and the vet's number; the house sitter their own food and bedding if agreed
  • ID checked against the booking, the house sitter's rating, and whose insurance covers damage while they stay

Walk away if

  • They want to take your dog to their own house but cannot show a council boarding licence
  • No references you can phone, only screenshots or written praise
  • Vague about whether they will actually sleep in the house
  • A partner, friend or their own pet appears at handover without having been agreed
  • Full payment in cash before a long sit starts
  • ID that does not match the name on the booking
LOW
£25
TYPICAL
£45
HIGH
£97

What a house sitter costs: £25–£97 per day

House sitters charge by the day or the night; pets, extra duties and a long booking move the rate, and short drop-in visits are priced per visit. House Sitter price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

House sitters near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. Meet at the houseA visit before the dates so the sitter sees the layout, the pets and the alarm, and you see who will be living there.
  2. Written instructionsRoutines, the vet, emergency contacts, stopcock, fuse board, bin days, Wi-Fi and anything off limits — on paper, left in the kitchen.
  3. HandoverKeys counted, the alarm set and unset together, the pets introduced, the first evening's plan agreed.
  4. During the sitMessages or photos on the days agreed; anything unusual reported the same day, not saved for your return.
  5. Coming homeThe house as you left it, keys and codes handed back, and a short note of anything that happened.

Live-in sit
The sitter sleeps in your home every night of the booking.
Drop-in visits
Short daily calls instead of staying; the house is empty most of the time.
Home boarding
Your dog stays in the sitter's own home — licensed by the council in England, Wales and Scotland when run as a business.
Basic check
A criminal record certificate showing unspent convictions: DBS, Disclosure Scotland Level 1 or AccessNI basic.
Key list
The written record of which keys the sitter holds and when they come back.
Handover note
The routine you leave for the sitter: pets, plants, bins, alarm, contacts.

AFTER

When the job is done

Get every key backCount the sets against the key list, and change any door or alarm code you shared if the sitter is new to you.
Walk round the houseWindows, doors, heating, freezer, post and plants; check the pets' food and medicine record against what you left.
Keep the paperworkThe agreement, the invoice and the messages from the sit are your record if something turns up broken later.
Tell others how it wentA review of the sit and the state of the house can only come from a booked job on Locufy. Problems first go through the make-it-right step.

STEP 1Put the sit in writing to themA short email is enough: the problem, and whether you want the sit put right or money back. A business must perform a service with reasonable care and skill (CRA 2015, s49), with repeat performance or a price cut as your remedies.
STEP 2Ask Locufy to help put it rightWhen you score a booked house sitter below four stars, you choose whether the house sitter sees the problem first. We follow it through, then you review.
STEP 3An unlicensed boarder, or a general disputeIf your pet was taken to a boarding business without a licence, tell that council's licensing team. Otherwise, a house sitter who will not engage can be referred to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Small claims, as a last stepIf the house sitter still will not refund or put it right, a small claim needs no solicitor: £10,000 is the limit in England and Wales, £5,000 for simple procedure in Scotland, £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a house sitter: questions people ask

Not while they care for them in your home. The English home boarding guidance says looking after a dog where it normally lives needs no licence. Taking your dog to the sitter's house as a business is boarding, and needs a council licence in England, Wales and Scotland.

No law requires one. A house sitter can request their own basic check — DBS in England and Wales, Disclosure Scotland in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland — and show it to you.

It can. Insurers set their own rules about empty homes and about other people staying, so read your policy and tell the insurer before the sit if the wording asks you to.

£25 to £97 a day, typically around £45. Nights in the house, pets and the length of the booking move the rate. The house sitter price guide has the breakdown; enter your town above for prices from sitters near you.

The dates and nights, the daily rate and extras, the pets' routine, who may visit, the key list, what the sitter may spend in an emergency, and what happens if you cancel or come home early.

Tell them in writing. A sitter trading as a business must use reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015; if they did not, ask for money back, use Locufy's make-it-right step, and use small claims if needed.

MORE GUIDES

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House sitters near you

House sitters in LondonHouse sitters in ManchesterHouse sitters in BirminghamHouse sitters in GlasgowHouse sitters in BelfastAll house sitters on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — home boarding for dogs licensing: statutory guidance (England)
  2. The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018
  3. Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963, section 1 — licence needed (Wales and Scotland)
  4. Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963, section 5 — boarding includes a private dwelling
  5. gov.uk — request a basic DBS check
  6. mygov.scot — Level 1 (basic) disclosure
  7. nidirect — apply online for a basic check (AccessNI)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  9. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  10. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  11. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  12. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register