We were recommended to a house owner by one of our previous house sit owners. These new owners have a gorgeous 8 bedroom house, indoor swimming pool, sauna etc 2 doggies, water front location, uk. They contacted us, sounded lovely, they wanted to get to their house in Monaco in July. Unfortunately we were already booked for July. We said we would keep in touch, perhaps pop and meet them whilst at our July sit as it was fairly close by to them. Yesterday we had news from the July house owners that because of all the travel uncertainty they were not now going away and cancelled us. So we contacted these new house owners with this news and asked if they were still wanting to travel on July. They were really pleased said they would go for most of our available dates and we could arrive a few days earlier to meet them and the dogs, get to know the house, pool/sauna workings etc, we would have our own 3 bedroom cottage in the grounds. Then they said their 2 children would be in the main house and the dogs live in the main house, not to collect the dogs before 9 am when kids awakeā¦
Mmmmm this made us have a discussion. We take our responsibilities as house/pet sitters very seriously, of course, we all do donāt we. So even if these kids are good kids, Iām sure they are , but with other people on site means we havenāt got full control. What about if they forgot to lock up, the pets got out, they had an accidental fire, or if they did have a party that went wrong whilst their parents were away.
Eventually we decided we couldnāt take that chance and we decided to be honest and let them know our thoughts and hoped they understood.
Would some of you other Sitters feel the same?
Omg that was so bad of the HO to spring that on you and then for the friend to be so disrespectful. Weāre people pleasers, sounds like you are too, , and we aways want to fit in with the owners requests and be as helpful as possible but sometimes you have to think of yourselves and Iām so glad you got the totally reasonable and quick result when you voiced your opinion. Thanks for sharing 
Yes, I understood you 
thanks!
Yes, we feel the same as you do, Julie. Older kids or āadultā children in the house while housesitting? BIG NO-NO! RED FLAG!!! I know responsible people whose āadultā children cannot be trusted and have caused serious problems. The 27 year old daughter of an acquaintance was using nail polish remover next to a lit candle! Result of acetone and flames together? The house burned down! If the parents cannot trust their own older kids to let the dogs out, then there is something wrong. We are PET and HOUSE sitters, not BABY or ADULT sitters! We always ask the Home Owners before we accept a sit āwho is allowed in your house during the sit?ā House Cleaners? OK. Gardeners and pool maintenance people outside? OK. But adult children who come and go to get food or drop off laundry? Big NO!
@Julie @Maryse ā¦ HI everyone, Julie perhaps you are unaware but Trustedhousesitters has a strict policy of no third parties being present in the home during a sit, sitters should be the only occupants, with the exception of cleaners gardeners, pool maintenance etc., or any regular services they may have, however this should be included in their listing and routines discussed with the sitter before confirming so that everyone is aware and knows what to expect.
No children, teenagers, young adults, tenants, workers, relatives, etc etc., unless they have fur, hair, feathers or scales, two, three or four legs it is a no no.
If an owner comes to the site and their listing includes another occupant it will be rejected and if a sitter becomes aware of an owner who may be unaware of this policy they should contact membership services who will take this up with the owner and explain that this is a situation we do not allow.
Does that policy extend to cleaners? Weāve had a couple of sits where we have arrived to be told that the cleaner comes in while we are there. One time a cleaner was there for the whole day. It feels a bit awkward as we canāt feel like we can relax.
Hello @PandAonTour and welcome to our community forum, thank you for joining the conversation.
Itās a very good question, but one that does fall outside the āno third partiesā (see link at end for full information), as follows:
Housekeepers, cleaners, maintenance workers, or gardeners etc, are fine as long as they are detailed on your listing, do not live in, and the sitter is aware of their schedules prior to the sit and it is all pre-agreed.
We suggest this is something to discuss and agree between you with the owners. Itās particularly difficult if the cleaner is employed and itās a longer sit - in the sense that it wouldnāt be fair to the cleaner to reduce her hours, or the owner might want a particular level of cleaning maintained in the property, a bit like gardeners who are also permitted.
In Mexico where we sat for 8 months overall, we always had cleaners and it was their main income, so we would just make this our shopping day, or get on with some work in our bedroom or the garden, while she worked. It was only 3 hours a week though, not a full day.
At first we felt uncomfortable too, coming from the UK where itās not so common in smaller properties. But now I quite like it and see it as a benefit, working round it. But we are all different, so itās a conversation to have with the owners before taking the sit. For a short one or two week sit maybe suggest to the owners that the cleaner might have a week of paid leave if youāre happy to clean instead, or if possible you could maybe organise cleaning for the last day to help with the clean before leaving 
Hereās the third party policy link:
Iāve seen a sit currently advertised that says the wife is going away, the husband will be at home but he works nights so is not able to look after the pets and the sitters are āunlikely to see much of himā
I agree with you @Julie , there is no way I would think of agreeing this kind of house sit.
I would never even consider a sitting where the sitters stay in the annexe, however lovely that accommodation is. We are there to house sit not annexe sit. I donāt see how anyone can look after the pets who are in the main house, also a sitter needs to be living in the main house to ensure everything is fine
I have many experiences of cleaners:
Cleaners who let themselves in when we had no idea a cleaner would be there
Cleaners who have been told to not clean anywhere where we have been, including the kitchen floor where the dog walks
Cleaners who want to talk all day
Cleaners who donāt clean properly
We still have to clean when we leave so we receive no benefit
We prefer that they are not there but its up to the HO
Hi Colin thank you for flagging if you can remember could you please let me know the location/country of the listing , I can then source and pass to Membership Services to pick up ā¦ donāt worry if you canāt Iāll search and locate
Thank you
We have been in that situation - we stayed in the Airbnb in the garden and the dogs stayed in part of the main house. We did ask permission to use the main house kitchen and snug. There was no real comfie seats in the annexe and the kitchen was very basic. It was ok but not ideal. The dogs didnāt seem to mind. They had a very large utility room with an outside door which they didnāt lock so the dogs could go in and out as they pleased.
I think some pet owners are anxious of sitters being in their space and this is their way of dealing with it.
Donāt start me about cleanersā¦
Elsie
It would definitely be UK - Ill try to find it
HI @Angela_L - we were vaguely aware of that but never had to really investigate it fully before. We felt bad that we had raised her hopes when we informed her we had a July cancellation and was she still wishing to travel as we were now available only to give her a negative response when she gave us the further info on her kids would be there. We feel reassured of our response to her being the correct one, from these supportive messages here from other Sitters and your info. Thank you
Yesā¦ weāve had similarā¦ they come in all varieties 
Years and years ago I had a cleaner in my own home in UK who every week, despite me mentioning it, moved all my ornaments into different positions after cleaning 
Weāve had some very good ones too thankfully on our sits. Talking is a big thing Iāve found though, maybe because they arenāt used to having anyone around
Hi @Itchyfeet - Thank you, itās been so good to hear others agree with us. The dogs were adorable and the house omg was gorgeous, huge, they sent us photos of their apartment and its views abroad, they were intending to visit, said we could use it in the future 
but all that didnāt sway us. (Nearly 
ā¦only joking). We felt bad that we had raised her hopes when we informed her we had a July cancellation and was she still wishing to travel as we were now available only to give her a negative response when she gave us the further info on her kids would be there. But it didnāt sit easy with us, hopefully we can sit for them in the future when they have a family holiday. Thank you
@PandAonTour We have a very good cleaner who comes in for a couple of hours a week, I always tell sitters and if they would rather she not come I will arrange for her to come another time. I always discuss it with the sitters to see what they are happy with. It is also nice for the dogs, who love her, as it is something familiar for them while weāre away.
Hi Provence, the key to the no third party rule is that no person, other than the sitter(s) occupy the property. that it is completely self contained and the sitters are the only people with access, except for cleaners, gardeners or non resident staff as agreed before sitters confirm the sit.
In the case you describe it is the same as in a block of apartments as long as there is no shared access.
If there are communal grounds and parking which can be used independently, this is acceptable providing the sitters are made aware of the arrangement before the sit is confirmed.
The consideration here also is that the other occupant, albeit it in separate accommodation, is an owner of the property and will have access to the rest of the house, there needs to be assurances and understanding that the sitterās privacy and sole occupancy of their part of the home be maintained.
Good for you