Hi I am currently house sitting in Augsburg, Germany, and recently had a small but interesting learning experience I wanted to share.
It snowed a few days ago, and it slowly became clear to me that in Germany, clearing snow and spreading grit on pavements and access paths is a legal obligation. While this is usually the homeowner’s responsibility, in practice it often falls to whoever is living in the house at the time. As house sitters, that effectively means us.
Over the past three years of full-time house sitting, I have often appreciated enjoying beautiful homes without most of the usual responsibilities of homeownership. That said, there are a few responsibilities that do come with it, and in my view, this is one of them. Being aware of local rules and acting accordingly is simply part of being a responsible house sitter.
I cleared the snow and gritted the path later that day and nothing happened. However, if someone were to slip and get injured because a pavement or entrance was not cleared, there could technically be legal consequences.
This feels very specific to Germany and is not something I have experienced in many other countries. I wanted to share this as a small heads-up for fellow house sitters that in some places, weather-related duties like snow clearing are part of the responsibility.
What is still unclear to me is how liability would be handled in a situation like mine as a house sitter without residence, ownership or a permanent address in the country. Would responsibility lie with the homeowner, their insurance or the person staying in the house at the time? If anyone has insight or experience, I would love to hear more.
I am also curious how this is handled in other countries. Is snow clearing or similar duties legally expected of residents or house sitters where you are?
Thank you for sharing and an interesting topic. I don’t know about the situation in Germany as a Housesitter. I’m pretty sure that if someone slipped on ice outside one’s home in the UK it would just be bad luck!
In the U.S., typically homeowners are legally responsible for clearing sidewalks/walkways along their homes. With multi-unit residences, that usually falls to the building ownership/managers/homeowners’ associations/condo or co-op boards, who often hire out for that. (If someone is hurt on icy sidewalks, homeowners or the building can be sued.)
When I sit in places that tend to snow, I discuss that with hosts at the outset – who will handle that – whether they hire out or I would need to do.
During one sit, I shoveled a small stretch around the house. Then tried to pour salt, but the homeowner’s supply turned out to be wet and unusable. Luckily, the weather quickly cleared.
I think this is a great, community-minded, element of German life. I assume the HO had informed you of this? It would surely be their responsibility to do so.
‘‘it slowly became clear to me that in Germany, clearing snow and spreading grit on pavements and access paths is a legal obligation’’ - perhaps the HO hadn’t informed you, and that sounds rather irresponsible
Yes, it’s also the case in France that whoever is living in the house is responsible for clearing the snow/ice from surrounding pavements , whether they are homeowner or tenant. I’m not sure from a legal point of view how that applies to the housesitter, though I would guess that they could indeed be liable in the case of an accident.
Just checked re the UK:
‘In the UK, you are not legally required to clear snow or ice from the public pavement outside your home
‘While you can be held liable if you make the path more dangerous by acting recklessly, it is very unlikely you will be sued if you clear it carefully’
Thank you all for your insights, that’s really helpful and interesting to read.
Just to add a bit of context: I’m German myself, which may be why the topic wasn’t explicitly mentioned by the homeowners. That said, this is actually my first house sit with snow. Over the past three years of full-time house sitting, I’ve usually avoided colder regions, so this situation simply hadn’t come up before.
I’ll definitely suggest to the homeowners that this is something worth adding to the welcome guide, just like waste separation or other local rules. It helps set clear expectations on both sides.
We have a rule that no garden waste goes into the normal waste bin and has to be taken to the composting site just outside our village. It states this in our Welcome Pack so it was not something we thought to discuss as we dont expect sitters to do any garden work. However, we had a sitter who was a garden designer by trade and very kindly dug over my vegetable patches and cleared some weeds. These he put in the bin for regular waste collection.
Nothing was said to us on our return and we were oblivious to this plus we do have a composting heap and a composting bin. Several weeks later we received a rather official letter from the Mayoral office saying we were in breach of regulations and, on this occasion they would see it as just giving us a warning. We have a sitter coming soon who has expressed a wish to do odd jobs and a bit of gardening so I must certainly make a point of explaining this. If I had received the normal €200 fine I think I would have just paid it and said nothing and taken it as a lesson learnt.
That’s true in the US too. In snowy areas we are responsible for clearing the sidewalks (pavements for UK folks) and walkways. When I had a house in Wisconsin, I was required to clear the sidewalk within 24 hours of when the snow stopped. I just finished a sit where they had a service that plowed the driveway and I shoveled the short walkway to the door (no sidewalks on that particular street). I always discuss the snow removal situation if I’m considering a sit where it’s likely to snow.
(Former) homeowners are more likely to already know to ask about snow removal/to be aware. That’s because they’re already responsible for it/have been. That includes doing the removal or paying for it.
For example, I didn’t know about Germany’s snow removal practices before this thread, but I would automatically ask about such, if I were to sit there during winter. Likewise if I were pursuing sits in any country or other location where snow is likely.
With renters, such work often is done by someone else or paid indirectly/absorbed into the cost of rent, especially in multi-unit housing, so might be more likely to be taken for granted or overlooked.
I’m in an Airbnb in PA right now, my mid-storm sits having been canceled. The HO wanted me to shovel her driveway and walk/steps. I cleared off my car and the space around it; she hired a local teen to do the rest…but then expected me to reimburse her.
That seems unreasonable. The host should’ve either arranged for snow removal and expected to pay (because it’s part of their homeownership responsibilities, whether they’re at home or away) or they should’ve discussed the possibility of shoveling with you at the outset. Then you could’ve made an informed choice about whether to take the sit with a shoveling requirement.
Plus, not everyone is in physical shape to shovel snow, so the host was making an assumption about both your health and willingness to shovel.
BTW, some buildings and homes in places that often get snow sometimes have heated walkways and driveways (built in, or sold as temporary-use kits), saving anyone some shoveling. But a sitter would have to know how to operate such, which a host should discuss and/or document for handoff.
@ClaraKing, in Canada then we believe that there is a federal law that requires residents to a) clear snow to create a safe walkway to front door of house (for Canada Post employees), and b) clear pavement/walkway outside property. This is a common discussion point in video calls. In host absence then typically housesitter clears the snow. That said, snow happens each year so most Canadian homeowners have appropriate equipment for snow clearance. Regardless, can be a physical workout.
For what it’s worth, we believe that some listings for Canada have no pets (i.e property care only) expressly as homeowner wants to satisfy related legal obligations and often home insurance policy requirements (gets blooming cold so many home insurance policies require properties to be visited every few days to check for water leaks, etc).
As a final reflection on this topic, particularly in the context of Germany, I wanted to share one overarching takeaway from my recent house sits.
After Augsburg, I travelled on to Berlin for my next sit, this time on the outer edge of the city in a more rural residential area, close to where the former border used to run. What stood out immediately was how differently snow clearing is handled. In Berlin, very few pavements were cleared or gritted at all, even in residential areas with many privately owned or long-term rented houses.
This difference cannot be seen in isolation. It was widely reported in the news that for several days the city of Berlin itself did not grit pavements and streets, despite numerous accidents and hospitals reporting overload. One officially stated reason was the intention to protect trees, wildlife and drinking water from damage caused by road salt. When even the city did not lead by example, it is hardly surprising that many residents also did not feel responsible for clearing the pavements in front of their homes.
By contrast, when I later mentioned the snow clearing in Augsburg to the homeowners, they told me that I actually would not have needed to do it, as it was meant to be handled by a neighbour. This clarified an important distinction for me. As a house sitter, especially on a short sit of only one week, I do not see myself as the primary legally responsible person for snow clearing. I would view this differently on a long winter sit lasting several months, where responsibility naturally shifts more clearly.
My main takeaway is that in Germany, responsibility, enforcement and expectations around snow clearing can vary significantly depending on the city, the neighbourhood and the specific living arrangement. For house sitters, this makes it especially important to clarify winter-related responsibilities with hosts in advance, rather than assuming there is one consistent rule that applies everywhere.
Of course snow shoveling can carry health risks, especially for people who already have underlying health issues. That said, many everyday activities do as well, from walking dogs to lifting groceries or gardening. Life itself comes with risks, and snow clearing is not uniquely dangerous when done mindfully.
I am currently house sitting in Augsburg, Germany, and recently had a small but interesting learning experience I wanted to share.
