Hi, thoughts on a tenant in the basement? Seems that there should be a lock on the HO side, remained locked at all times, and disclosed in advance, correct?
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Yes, agree with you. You should have been informed, especially if there is not a lock on your side to prevent them from entering.
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Hi @GentleSitter -
THs has a third party policy which says
“ A pet parent must ensure that their property is vacant and that no other person will be living in the home apart from the sitters. This includes (and is not limited to) no family members, tenants or employees. ”
https://support.trustedhousesitters.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360001881117-Third-party-policy
If a sit breaches this policy a sitter can leave if they are concerned for their safety . Also there is an Urgent Support Phone Line which you can call 24/7 .
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@GentleSitter it depends on local fire regulations and the options for getting out of the basement in an emergency. This may conflict with TrustedHousesitters rules on privacy. Something to discuss in depth with the owners to assure the property complies with both THS rules and local fire regulations.
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THS doesn’t allow third parties to stay in the home during the sit, so anyone who lived in the basement would need a separate entrance for the home to qualify for listing on THS.
It wouldn’t matter if local zoning laws or fire regulations required X — even if that were the case, THS terms don’t specify such exceptions and sitters would be exposed to the risk of someone they don’t know having access to their quarters if there’s no separate entrance.
The hosts also could potentially expose themselves to legal liability if the sitter were hurt by a tenant staying in the home without a separate entrance.
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@Maggie8K I agree with you about a separate entrance. However, at least where I live, a secondary exit meeting certain standards has to be available as the location of the fire may make the main exit/entrance impassable. I’ll leave it at that because this is not my area of expertise but rather only from personal experience. The basement apartment had its own entrance but the homeowner was required to keep the upper door unlocked because there wasn’t any window that was large enough to be an approved exit.
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THS’s separate entrance guidance is aimed at protecting the sitter. What you described doesn’t appear to meet that standard.
And even if THS approved what would be essentially meaningless separate entrance, as you described, the sitter should consider practical risks: Would you want a stranger to have access to your quarters? There are safety, as well as security risks.
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Here there are building regulations to protect tenants, and too small windows for exit in case of fire would be illegal even if there was a door, and it wouldn’t be legal to let (or use as a bedroom). But even in a country where it might be legal to sleep and have tenants, I would think it was against THS policy - so even if legal to let it would be against THS policy and you can’t use that property to host a sitter.
I wouldn’t sit if a stranger I didn’t know had access to my living quarters (the stranger & co., as it might be).
In addition, ofc., - to what if something happens during sit even if I knew it couldn’t have been me - would I be held responsible? Something claimed to have gone missing, the pet was let out and hurt or gone missing etc.
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I can see you managed to speak to the team about this over the weekend - I hope they were able to help 
If there’s anything else you need please don’t hesitate to drop them a line again.
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Support is always incredible. Thanks.
I declined the sit. I simply didn’t feel comfortable with a dog that may be scratching at the basement door to go down and visit the tenant.
Many thanks for connecting chat to the support call. I encourage others to do the same 
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