I thought the general idea is that house sitters, in any situation, got free accommodation in return for occupying a premises and caring for it. Now I find that I am going to be charged significant HOURLY rates for occupation, or daily, or weekly and maybe even for specifics tasks like cleaning etc. In Oz it looks as if I could be paying a sitter as much as they would pay for rent, so they can live for free as they travel etc.
What?
If the sit is through TrustedHousesitters, sitters cannot charge. If a sitter is asking for payment you should report them.
Welcome OldNick!
I’m confused by your post: Sitters on TH do not charge for pet care. We are expected to leave the home in the same tidy condition we found it and to do whatever small tasks (bringing in mail, watering houseplants, taking garbage to the curb for pick up, etc.) as part of the exchange. These tasks should be agreed upon before you confirm a sitter. I have worked as a paid sitter/estate manager outside of TH and have done about 30 free/exchange sits on TH. If someone on this site is asking to be paid for the ordinary duties of a pet/housesitter that should be reported. Please be kind: they might be new or confused. If the duties you require go well beyond the norm you should probably contact management at TH to ask how to proceed. The emphasis here is on equal exchange. Many homeowners and sitters on this platform go above and beyond for each other in a spirit of generosity and graciousness. I hope that, like me, you will experience this and have many pleasant and positive experiences going forward.
I havent seen someone charge yet and I know its against the rules. I have seen someone request you fill out an application for lease (no charge), I think its because they live in military housing.
What does sitters “in any situation” mean in your reference? Do you mean anywhere or do you specifically mean you’ve been solicited by a sitter on this platform (Trusted Housesitters)?
If you’re trying to hire sitters off THS, yes, most charge.
If you mean on THS, sitters may not charge and can be booted from this platform for that. You can report them to membership services for that.
Hi and thanks for all the replies.
I guess I have asked in the wrong place,as I hear a lot of reference to the THS organisation and its not allowing charging. I live in Australia and was seeing a few sites that did charge.
So my answer seems to be that your site does not and I need to keep looking in Oz. I am assuming that what I was seeing was advantage-taking by some particular site.
Nick
Hi @OldNick,
I’m sorry for your confusion with learning how this all works. This is the TrustedHousesitters forum so most people here are paid members. Both homeowners and sitters alike (from pretty much anywhere) pay an annual membership to be apart of TrustedHousesitters. TrustedHousesitters has a variety of membership package options but the basic homeowner starts at around $180/year.
Once a member pays they create a profile with photos of their home and pets and details about what they are looking for in a pet sitter while they are gone. Sitters are not paid by homeowners although many homeowners do leave a gift or tip to the sitter(s).
I hope this helps clear up any confusion.
There are plenty of THS sitters looking for sits in Oz. Join @OldNick - one sit and you’ll have recovered your membership fee! Best of luck 
In the last year, a local home owner reached out just to ask if they should be paying for a sitter. They had a meet & greet with another local sitter here in the States a few weeks before the sit dates, when they were told that the sitter’s fee was $200.
I encouraged them to report that sitter to THS, and hope that happened.