This is a matter of policy but what do sitters think about an owner being at home in the evening, if they have their own private quarters and complete freedom without pet care when he/ she is home, including weekends to take the car and go wherever they want. And the owner is quiet, helpful and friendly?
I think itâs an odd arrangement and I would definitely not accept such sit. Having said that, we had to spent a week with our HOs because of last minute flight changes. It did get awkward with expectations around pet care, yard chores etc. ( who does what) and also meal prep/times.
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I donât think THS is a solution for that.
It sounds like something that the owner would want long term. And then I guess that there would be local people looking for housing that might be interested. Maybe on a local Facebook group, the bulletin board of a local college, etc.
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@SoCaldogs this sit wouldnât be permitted to be listed on Trusted House Sitters so I assume you are asking about a non THS sit ?
â we do not allow other people on the property whilst a sit is ongoing. Once a sitter has begun their sit, we require that the pet parent(s) have vacated the property for the entirety of the stay, and no other individuals (apart from the confirmed sitters) are present during the sit. â
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No thank you. The beauty of THS is that the house is yours and yours alone. As nice as an owner may be, itâs against THS third party policies for them to be there and potentially awkward for everyone on sharing responsibilities, feeling relaxed & so on. #allaboutboundaries
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When you say âown private quartersâ do you mean completely discrete - own front door, bedroom, kitchen, sitting room, bathroom - that the home owner doesnt access at all during the sit? I think that could meet the third party Ts & Cs.
Then the owner does some of the pet care and the sitter does some? Unusual but it could work. Id worry about being micro-managed if I were the sitter. It depends on personalities. Iâd want to understand the context.
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I just wanted to see peopleâs thoughts about the 3d party policy.
As @Cuttlefish has said the fact that the home, the whole home, is exchanged for pet and house care is what the THS concept is based on. If people want to do sits which involve owners being around then they should find a different route to do these but if THS starts to be âdilutedâ in this way then it can only be a matter of time before the fundamentals of the exchange are lost.
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Sounds weird, sounds possibly against policy like others stated⌠If the ownerâs home in the evenings why do they need a live-in sitter? If the pet needs company all the time it sounds like the ownerâs just trying to avoid paying pet-daycare fees.
Agree this isnât really the platform for it. Maybe they should take out a classified ad. Then they could charge rent too, and âreduceâ it for doing pet care. 
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I would not continue as a sitter on Trusted House Sitters if the policy was altered and third parties were permitted to stay .
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Yes, the idea is complete freedom for the sitter from.animal care when the owner is there, no micromanagement, just friendly company, if desired. Like being in a private suite in an airbnb.
I dont think a suite within the home would work. It needs to be completely separate, more like being a nextdoor neighbour.
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It sounds like the owner is looking for a house mate. But pet care in exchange for no rent. I guess it could work for some people who donât mind sharing a house. But itâs not something we would be interested in. As other sitters have said, we do it to enjoy the house to ourselves - having pets for company, instead of having to talk to people.
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At the end of the day, itâs your choice. Itâs against THS T&Cs, but if youâre happy with the arrangement, then please go ahead with the sit.
One of my first sits with THS, the owner was home in the evenings and I only had to look after the pet on weekdays during the day. That was a 3 week sit and it actually suited me really well.
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Of course that kind of arrangement will suit some people. However I think it should be done off-THS as if some sits are offered on this basis it is going to make it incredibly difficult to maintain the âno third partiesâ policy which I think is an important one for this site.
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Why though?
Just curious, are you a paId member of THS?
Itâs happened to me a few times but not by choice apart from my last sit (a repeat one that I got on fantastically with the home owners). Iâd prefer not to have owners around on a sit as I like to do my own thing once my responsibilities are taken care of. So a big no for me if this was the situation out the gate. Maybe the HO canât manage taking care of their pets which can happen but maybe look for someone to come in and feed said pets or a live in help thatâs paid to do such things?
Nope. Not an exchange.
This might be fine arrangement, but not one you should be offering through your THS listing.
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Itâs not a question of the monitery value. I donât do Airbnb a lot, but when I do itâs not in a shared space. I donâ't do a lot of sits either, but when I do sit, itâs not in a shared space. The shared space sit is specifically not an option here. Nobody is disputing how nice it might be or that someone might enjoy it. Itâs not the exchange that this site was set up as. If you have it on a listing, someone might report that listing. A sitter might do the sit anyway and than run into a problem with it and blame you for violating the third party rule.
@SoCaldogs It is against THS rules and intent but it is completely up to you. Do whatâs best for you. If youâre good with the arrangements, go for it. It can allow you a lot more time to explore and travel the area. Weâve had couple instances that fell outside of the rules from THS but were with people we had become close to and were perfectly happy doing so. i.e. staying at the house when the HO came home for a couple days between their 2 trips.
Dan