We have done over 30 housesits since July 2017 and a common theme throughout it that most homeowners have been controlling house heating remotely. It has ranged from set at constant 16c despite cold weather a more recent sit our bedroom was 9c and even more recent no heating all and its March with temperatures around 6c with feel of -2c. Whilst we are able to find a work around the thing struck us was we are caring for a very old cat who is having to cope with this. Please pet owners think about your pets before you decide to dictate a temperature whilst you are away
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I would be giving the homeowner 24 hours to find someone else, unless they turn the heating up to at least 18 degrees. Itās not fair on you and itās not good for their cat.
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Hi @Twogreys
Iām really sorry to hear about this.
Our member code of conduct states:
I think that having a home thatās a comfortable temperature for pets and occupants is part of a comfortable environment.
Have you communicated your concerns to the hosts?
Jenny
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Completely unacceptable and fortunately enough we have never had this problem. If we did I would mention it in the review and ding the hospitality stars accordingly.
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Sorry to hear of your experience @Twogreys .
Did you communicate with the hosts over this issue - what was their response ?
We have done many THS sits over winter . Our experience has been that our THS hosts have all wanted us to be cosy and comfortable. At handover they showed us how to increase the heating temperature if we were cold and that included several older properties ( 300 years old ) which are difficult to heat.
Many ensured there was also supplementary heating available if needed and had ready extra logs for a log fire - not necessary for warmth but to have a cosy winter experience .
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Thatās not acceptable for any sitter in my view. Iāve done 29 sits over the last nearly 4 years on THS and have never experienced such. I did once sit in a home that was uncomfortably cold for a few days during my sit but this wasnāt a HO issue but a weather for it being unusable cold for March in Southern Spain and the fact I struggled to keep the wood burner going that heated the place. The HO did leave me a cupboard of duvets and blankets. The listing did state the wood burner was the only heating available but the rest of the sit nights were in double digits rather than low single figures I experienced for a few nights.
Lesson learnt was to avoid older properties without full heating or extra heating available.
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The heating for most humans (including the hosts) is a matter of ālivingā and ā¦ misery. The temperatures you mention are unlivable, to which no human or pet should be continuously subjected. You need to discuss it with the host immediately, and (which is equally important) also mention it in your review, as such an environment, as well as the hostĀ“s indifference to it, is unacceptable.
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Hi, as we are stopping housesitting very soon and having got used to this senario we havent bothered. This sit has highlighted it because of the cats age and state, we will be contacting homeowner.
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Itās hard to believe if you asked them to set the temperature at a certain degree that they would deny you. Something tells me you did not ask them to do this.
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Erā¦ My own house is heated to 16.5 degs C. The heating kicks in when the temperature hits 13. And Iām not specially tough or cold-insensitive. I think too many of us expect to walk around indoors in our shirt sleeves in the depths of winter, or to be pleasantly cool at the push of a button when itās tropical outside. Itās doing the Environment no good at all.
That said, HOs should indeed be making their homes comfortable for their sitters (hey guys, Iām a cheap date on this! 
) and if the sitter is cold, theyāre cold. Iāve never come across a home heated or cooled remotely. I await the experience with interest.
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Iāve had HOs remotely turn up the heat shortly before my arrival so that the home was nice and toasty when I got there. Otherwise, they were āhands offā for the duration of the sit.
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What country(s) are you sitting in? Curious if this is a āregionalā thing. I cant imagine HOs dictating the temperature like this so regularly. I could see a one off here and there but you are saying this is more often than not for you. Poor kitty. Poor you. Please do keep us updated after you try to work this out with the owners.
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That is unlivable and terrible for the cat.
We leave our typical temperature range (20 degrees C in the winter and 24 degrees C in the summer) in our welcome guide but state that sitters are free to adjust to their reasonable needs.
We donāt live in a cold weather climate so heat is rarely an issue. Summer use of the A/C can be, but weāve never had an issue with sitters being unreasonably wasteful.
Iāve done 27 sits without problems with heating or cooling. If the hosts wouldnāt provide comfortable temps, Iād give 24 hoursā notice so they could find alternative care and Iād leave.
In one case, I read in their Welcome Guide well ahead of the sit that the temp had to be kept at something I considered cold, so I raised it with them, saying I worried Iād be uncomfortable. They backed off right away and said I should make myself comfortable. That was fortunate, because it snowed during my sit.
Separately, in two cases where hosts controlled temps remotely, one sit was during temperate weather and, the other, I could override manually.
No hosts have expected me ā much less their pets ā to be hot or cold.
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Over Christmas and NY, I was in an apartment cat-sitting in France. The host mentioned (actually, pleaded) when I got there that sheād prefer I left the heat off overnight and any time I left the apartment. I followed her instructions. It was regularly about 12 C/53 F and got even lower during a cold snap. Even with the āheatā on, it never got higher than 16-17 C / 60-61 F. She only brought this up in personānot on the video call, not in the listing.
Yes, I reviewed accordingly.
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Is turning the heat off while out of the home considered unreasonable? I want my sitters to be totally comfortable when in my home but I do ask for the heat to be off anytime they are not home. This is more my paranoia about fire than the cost, although I started putting it in my profile/WG after a sitter left my heat on full blast when they left (with approximately 8 hours before I returned - all agreed in advance, but DAMN that was an expensive day).
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Well, it depends on how the heat worksāmostly I think weāre used to turning a thermostat down or having it set to turn down when not at home and overnight. But in this case, it was an older building with those flat units attached to the wall and they were either on or off.
Iām far from a heat hog, by the way. In my own home, Iām comfortable at 68F in winter (63 at night).
Actually, a neighbor who used to feed/visit my cat (and vice versa) criticized me for having the heat set at 63F because she felt that was too cold for my cat. It was only 63 in the drafty downstairsāupstairs was a cozy 70F.
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Thatās what I have - baseboard heaters in an old building.
TBH, I run very hot and almost never turn the heaters on when Iām home. But I understand this is not normal 
and donāt expect sitters to follow it. I just canāt fathom heating a home with no one in it. My cat has a fur coat and lots of blankets to snuggle in - sheās fine.
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I am sorry to hear that. This can be a tricky issue. I think it is understandable to be concerned about energy costs, but the restrictions that some place are completely unreasonable. While a host may be fine wearing their winter jacket inside all day for example, they shouldnāt expect a guest in their home to adhere to the same extremely limited use.
I have done sits where hosts did ask to keep the heating at a certain level and it has always been a reasonable temperature so I was fine with that.
I know this can be a big issue and I think if it is something with which sitters are concerned, especially if it is because they keep running into hosts who will not allow them to heat the house to reasonable temperatures, it is really important to inquire about this prior to confirmation.
I also know from posts on the forum that many sitters feel uncomfortable broaching this subject with the hosts as they worry it could make them come across as someone who could potentially run up their bill.
But it is a very valid thing to discuss, and the way I see it, if a host decided to decline an applicant right away for asking about this, there is a good chance they are someone who is very strict with energy use, which is the exact type of person you are trying to avoid.
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As a sitter, I turn down the heat before I sleep and before going out. I donāt turn it off, because it will get cold and take too long to heat up again. But of course, heating and cooling systems differ, so best to discuss. If the host were unreasonable, that would be a warning signal to me.
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