Basically, it’s not a problem if the tenant has a separate entrance/exit and there’s no overlap in use of amenities like a washer/dryer, kitchen, etc.
The problem with many houses is, they weren’t designed for completely separated living. Even ones with mother-in-law units often use the same entrance/exit as the main home. And for THS purposes, such overlaps are a problem, because then strangers might have access to the sitter. Like if you’re a woman alone, would you want to risk not knowing who’s coming and going? It wouldn’t necessarily even just be the tenant, because tenants usually can have their own guests.
Tangentially, this is one of the reasons why I include a friendly heads up in my sitter profile, highlighting THS dealbreakers such as third-party guests.
I figure that will tend to put off hosts who are clueless or who try to breach THS terms, feigning ignorance.
If hosts see such references in my profile, they’re put on notice that I’m not a pushover. People who are bullies, exploiters, abusers, etc., usually look for easy victims.
I had cancelled one sit because she then told me that one of the rooms had a lodger. A male lodger, a lovely guy who often wasn’t home anyway. We share all common areas. I was going to sit alone and so that was an automatic no.
When you brought the subject up here, you effectively reported her. This forum is THS’s and they do monitor it. Members have hurdles to matching a THS profile based on forum handles but THS does not.
Hosts with pets pretty much violate the terms with every sit they post. Can’t be avoided.
5.2.4. ensure that no pets to be left under the care of a Sitter have ever caused a person or animal any physical harm (no matter how minor the injury);
Once you realize/understand that THS T&Cs are solely for the purpose of protecting THS from liability to an extent that renders THS unfit for purpose, taking the T&Cs as sacrosanct is simply silly.
I agree. The terms and conditions are to cover THS’s backside then to protect sitters and HOs. Think about it, if the rule in question wasn’t there, then any adverse encounter between a sitter and dangerous dog or roommate could be a potential lawsuit. In THS’s realm, if a HO violates a rule, they can say we told them not to, so, not my bad.
Once you realize that all companies selectively enforce terms, you’ll understand that they can make an example of you. Of course, everyone can run their own risks. It’s silly to not recognize that.
On behalf of sitters, thank you for being honest in your review and shame on those who were NOT honest. SO unfair to future applicants. I would NEVER apply if there is a third party on site. I don’t care how great the sit seems. That’s a non negotiable and I’m sure many others feel the same way.
Urgh. Come on THS. If I had wanted to report her I would have reported her. What are the chances THS also reprimanded the sitters before me who wrote selective reviews? I’m more mad at them than I am the HO…
@carpediem16 You’re welcome. I have to say though that I feel/felt the same way before I ended up on this sit, but the roommate was actually lovely (and I don’t even like people!) and she even helped me find the the well-hidden waste bags that I probably would have spent an hour searching for otherwise For longer sits though I definitely wouldn’t want to risk a bad roommate situation.
I really don’t believe that you have caused the listing disappearance. THS don’t bother monitoring such things. Even when listings are reported, they take their time to act if they do at all.
Unfortunately, it’s not about what you or I want. THS moderators of this forum can not ignore accounts here of blatant violations of certain T&Cs. As employees of THS, moderators ignoring violations would undermine the liability protections of the T&Cs. Your intent was obviously not to cause your host problems; you just used the wrong venue for your opening questions. Facebook or Reddit is safer for raising dicey issues when wanting to keep THS out of the mix.
Yeah I get the concern. I’m just wondering if there is in fact a rule that tenants must be mentioned if in a separate dwelling. Or if the rule is fine tuned to include tenants who share an entrance or other common area like a yard.
I can think of only one sit I’ve been on where there was a downstairs tenant and there was a common front door. The tenants apartment door was to the side and there were stares up to the host’s home. I don’t believe the tenant was mentioned and it was a nonissue for me. It feels the bigger issue with this sit is the third party violation.
I read that as a sitter can have a Co sitter or be accompanied by family members ….or have guests if they have been agreed with the hosts beforehand. but a host cannot have third parties in the home …
For example some sitters sit as a family - in this case only one person of the family is the THS member but their spouse / partner and or children are included on their profile and application ( in writing )
For longer sits though I definitely wouldn’t want to risk a bad roommate situation.
from Mark_B.
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