Hey guys!! 
I just got the notif that my application was declined and that the owner only wants 25+ years old people caring for their home and pet. I can understand that a little bit, that they only want âno-party teenagersâ and only adults. Even though I am not even close to that type of a partying person hahah. I was wondering if this is even allowed? I tried reading the T&C but nothing mentioned about that.
What do you think?
Did it say in the initial listing that they wanted age 25+? if yes then itâs up to them. Just as they might want a couple or no kids or only females because the dog likes women etc. If not then itâs annoying but not much you can do about it.
@anastasiapa - they are free to choose whoever they think will be the best fit for taking on the responsibilities of caring for their home and pets.
Age isnât a barrier to partying 
and there are good and not so good sitters of all ages. At the end of the day it is for the homeowner to decide.
If homeowners have a definite preference such as single person, couple, family, age group etc it would be helpful to mention it at the top of the listing to save time all round.
Some jurisdictions have laws against age discrimination in the workplace etc, but those would not apply in cases like these, I believe.
Sorry this happened to you, but yes itâs allowed. Owners can choose who they want. No discrimination laws apply here and I donât think it would work to have these laws in a free exchange. Owners must be able to choose someone they feel comfortable with.
Yea, nothing was mentioned in the description⌠I will just let them know that it is better to warn applicants before applying.
Hahaha of course! I just meant that I am a rather a couch potato than a going out person 
. I will let them know so that they mention it in the listing
The age limit on THS is 21: Terms & Conditions | TrustedHousesitters.com
But anyway, babysitters are often highschool kids.
Babysitters are highschool kids, but thatâs just for a few hours usually, itâs not caring for them for a fortnight, or several months in dog years 
.
Given that the THS app only permits individuals aged 21 and above, itâs understandable that being a sitter includes significant responsibility. However, the suitability of a sitter isnât solely determined by age but by individual behavior, personality, and commitment. While itâs surprising to encounter age restrictions not disclosed in the listing description, THS has a strict registration process, emphasizing reliability and experience reviews.
Age should not be the sole determinant of a sitterâs suitability; itâs unfair to assume that individuals aged 18-24, or as per THS regulations, 21+, arenât capable sitters. A sitterâs appropriateness depends on their individual profile and reviews.
Personally, I would entrust my pup to someone in this age range if they demonstrate responsibility and dedication.
I still understand if the dog can not trust a specific s*x/gender or age, but that is a different story.
Yes! Owners are allowed to discriminate by age. In fact your age is listed on your profile. If you arenât a fan of this, I would suggest you write an email to Trusted Housesitters to complain and make it clear that the the ability to discriminate by age when all sitters pay the same fees is unfair to sitters. And then make whatever other arguments about this you would like.
Iâve done this and received a meh âwe read your emailâ type response. Iâm older and probably my age isnât a big problem but Iâm heading into the pont where they no longer have a category just as old as it gets so soon HOs will assume I canât climb stairs or get a 40 pound dog to the vets or whatever because of a number rather than actually having a video chat with me so I could send them a photo of me doing push ups or something.
Frankly, HOs are going to have preferences, but I donât think THS should put their thumb on the scale by actually listing sitter ages on the profiles.
Yes pet parents can pick and choose as sitters can.
A reason why there shouldnât be ages listed, which are listed for S/G members but not HO members. Consideration shouldnât be based solely on age, if at all. If the HOâs met you via a call, liked you and thought you were a good fit, that should be the criteria. If your complaint was about age in the other direction (too old) people wouldnât validate the discrimination so readily. Honestly, having ages listed probably violates laws in many countries.
Ideally the listing should have mentioned the age requirement. I donât understand people calling this discrimination as the entire vetting process is a form of active discrimination to establish the right person for the pets and the home.
@Oztravels: I understand all the ways people may be setting preferences for the type of person sitting in their home: nomadic/not nomadic, by gender, by strength, etc. THS doesnât have actual filters for these. My issue is with the filters and publicly posting age. In this case, setting an arbituary age â 25 or older doesnât defy any rules. However, THS helps make this easier by publicly posting sittersâ ages. It is basically like saying: We welcome you to rule out sitters who donât meet your age preferences! I think part of posting sits is to allow people to apply who might not be the ideal sitter that the host has in mind, but the host might consider. Thatâs a good business practice because all sitters are paying the same for membership and should have opportunities.
In the US discrimination against people over 40 is illegal in housing and employment. But usually all age discrimination is looked down on. Itâs a bad look. It feels off. I really struggle with keeping my membership as it feels demeaning to me to be charterized by age and once sitters hit 64 whether they are 65 or 90 they are chaterized as 64+â
I do this for fun. Not to be reminded about employment struggles owing to age discrimination. I can also see this as an absolute danger for younger sitters as homeowners can filter by age on the app and look for possibly more exploitable younger sitters. Does THS really want to encourage a homeowner specifically looking for young women under 24? Seriously?
Again, people are free to choose the sitters that will work for them, but if there was another site with a similar number of sitters and homeowners to choose from that didnât post sitter ages publicly or allow homeowners to filter by age, then Iâd be joining that site.
Hello everyone,
I am just quickly popping in here, not to stop the flow of this discussion but just to remind members when using the forum our guidelines state:
âLetâs keep our space welcoming and safe for everyone here. Prejudice isnât allowed. Please refrain from negative comments about age, race, religion, culture, or personal identity.â
Making generalised assumptions about certain age groups is not within these guidelines and those comments have been flagged and removed.
Any questions my DMâs are always open.
Thank you
Carla
This reminds me of people watching an entire show on TV and then complaining about being offended. Just switch off, or in this case, move on and look for another sit. This is their house, and their babies. They are in charge of the decision in every single way!
Hmmm, I find this a bit of a strange comment.
The purpose of the original post is to complain about age discrimination. For you to respond that age discrimination is not allowed in the forums, without addressing the designed-in discrimination on THS generally just seems a bit tone deaf.
I get your point, we canât have anyone in the forums claiming that any specific group of people are (potentially) less good as sitters. Agreed.
But if you allow that discrimination to happen in the awarding of opportunities, as you do, then itâs hard for anyone to discuss the situation without having an opinion about whether the discrimination has a legitimate basis.
Weâre getting into very sticky ground here. Iâve done content moderation, and even wrote a book about it, so I appreciate what youâre trying to do and how hard it can be.
But, as any young person whoâs ever tried to hire a car - or simply get car insurance - will tell you, there is a legitimate discussion to be had about risk and responsibility where young people are concerned.
I donât think having opinions about whether the typical 24-yr old can feed a cat reliably is something we should prohibit, although obviously you canât allow insults etc.
Really not sure what youâre referring to. I actually havenât encountered any issues based on age (that I know of), I was responding to the OP and others who have encountered age discrimination. In this case, your analogy doesnât work. Encountering agism isnât the same as changing entertainment streaming options.
And, no, the HO is not âin charge in every single wayâ because itâs an exchange, a decision by both parties, and in my case, has often involved negotiation. If a HO were to take that attitude, like Iâm an employee and they are my boss, Iâll decline. Zero interest.
Hello @therealchrisgray
Thank you for reaching out and I am happy to clarify that the forum team can pass on the feedback about sitterâs ages being posted on their THS profiles. Outside of that, it is not something that the forum team can influence.
My post was referring to the flagged posts by other users on this thread that breached the forum use guidelines and terms. Thatâs where we will step in and moderate.
I hope that helps. The discussion helping the OP is still open and ongoing, it just needs to be kept within the forum T&Cs! 