Homesit New Zealand: home sitting, house sitting, pet care and more

For further information
please select your nearest
Homesit Branch

BECOME a Sitter [form]

REQUEST a Sitter [form]

Become a sitter with Homesit

What type of people Homesit?
Someone like you or your friends. House sitters join Homesit for a range of reasons. They are responsible people who love animals and enjoy discovering different parts of New Zealand. House sitters tend to be people who find it suits their circumstances at a certain time in their lives.

Now, is Homesitting the lifestyle for you? Hopefully these questions and answers will help you decide.

1. Do I have to pay rent?
No, Homesitting is a reciprocal arrangement. You receive accommodation in return for which the homeowner receives your services of housekeeping, garden maintenance and loving care for their pets. You pay for your own living expenses, power, toll calls and food. The homeowner pays ongoing costs such as the mortgage, rates and telephone line rental, and of course food for the animals.

2. How long will it take to obtain a sit?
Impossible to say. The registration process itself takes about a month, principally because the police check takes this long to process.. We have to check your references and decide if the arrangement is going to work for both of us. Then, although we make the recommendation, it is the client who selects the sitter. Once a booking has been made, we refer to them one or two sitters who closely match the profile that has been provided, and then it is up to the prospective sitter(s) and the client to arrange to meet and decide whether or not they feel comfortable with each other.

3. Can you guarantee continuity of sits?
NO. You cannot rely on Homesit to provide a permanent roof over your head. Assignments can be as short as a week or as long as several months. Before you register, you should make arrangements to stay somewhere between sits.

4. Why do you require so many references?
Because what we offer our clients is the security of knowing that we only recommend sitters that are trustworthy and reliable. Your references need to be written and we require current contact numbers for the referees. We prefer them to come from previous Homesitting assignments, a landlord or letting agent or an employer. We need you to complete a form so we can obtain a Courts Check.

5. How long is the average Homesit?
Sits can range from long weekends to several months with autumn/winter sits being longer than Spring/Summer ones.

6. I only want long-term sits; anything over two months would be okay. What are my chances?
Not great. In the winter the average sit is between four and eight weeks duration, and in the summer between two and four weeks. If you're not prepared to accept short sits you will need to cope with very big gaps between sits.

7. I work long hours, leaving early and arriving back late, is this a problem?
It can be. Homesitting is attractive to owners because it provides security for their property and loving care for their pets. If you are not going to be there for much of the time, owners do not see the advantage to them.

8. I'm allergic to cats and I don't care for dogs, will this affect the sits I'm offered?
Yes, 98% of our assignments involve pets, if you don't like animals it is unlikely we will be able to offer you many sits.

9. I don't want to spend my weekends mowing lawns and weeding gardens, do I have to?

It depends,

some owners have contractors who come in regularly.
some owners may not require garden maintenance
for those that do, you should consider paying for a contractor so that you do not have to do it. Otherwise, you should not take the sit.

10. I smoke, although I'm prepared to go outside if necessary. What do clients usually think?
Almost without exception, clients specify that the sitter must be a non-smoker. You must be honest about this because a non-smoker is usually very perceptive about who is or is not a smoker and whether anyone has been smoking in their home.

11. Can I still Homesit if I have children and/or pets?
Sometimes we have clients who would be happy for a family to move in but the reality is that they are rare.

Home sitters are not allowed to deal directly with clients. Should clients deal directly with sitters it will result in both parties being removed from our database

In order to register with Homesit we will need you,

to supply us with three written references
to have a current Courts Check. We will need to apply if you do not already have one.
to meet with us for a personal interview.

If you feel that this is the lifestyle for you, please contact your nearest Homesit branch or complete the online form.