Side hustle heroes: house sitting our way through retirement

From luxury homes in Kensington to cottages on the Scottish coast, Donna and Frank have spent the past four years travelling the UK as house sitters and caring for pets. We caught up with them to find out how it works, what it pays and who’s cut out to be a house sitter.

What exactly is house sitting?

Donna: It’s looking after someone’s home, and usually their pets, while they’re away. It gives the homeowners peace of mind and keeps the animals comfortable in their own surroundings. Some pets need medication or have strict routines, and owners want them looked after just so.

Does it always involve animals?

Donna: Not always, but for us it usually does – the animals are the main reason we do it. That said, there are sits where you’re just looking after an empty property for security, sometimes while an estate is being settled. Those can last longer, weeks or even months.

Frank: There are even commercial property sits, but we’ve stuck with homes and pets.

How did you get started?

Donna: My parents were house sitters for 15 years. They loved it and were always telling us stories about the places they went and the animals they cared for. It sounded ideal, and when we retired, we decided to give it a go.

How do you find house-sitting jobs?

Donna: We signed up with an agency called Homesitters. It’s a bit like a dating site; they match what we’re willing to do with what clients are looking for. If there’s a match, we’re contacted about the job and, if we’re interested, we arrange to meet the client. It’s important we’re happy with the house and pets, and they’re happy with us.

How often do you house sit?

Donna: It’s totally up to us. We’ve got family commitments – grandkids and elderly parents - so we pick and choose. On average, we do 8-10 jobs a year. Some last a weekend, others a few weeks.

Frank: Most of our house sits tend to last around two weeks.

Is there much demand?

Donna: Loads! We’ve had to turn down a lot of jobs. Once people have used us, they usually want us back, so we always tell them to book early.

Is it seasonal?

Donna: Not really, there’s demand all year round. We tend to turn down more in summer and over Christmas so we can spend time with our family.

How much do you get paid?

Donna: Clients cover our travel expenses, give us a food allowance, and we get around £200 a week from the agency, depending on the number of animals we’re looking after and how much care they need.

Frank: It’s not a full-time income, but it helps pay for a really nice holiday every year.

Have you ever had any house-sitting disasters?

Donna: Once we lost a cat for a few days - it came back, but it was stressful!

We’ve had power cuts too. One time, we were staying at a house in the New Forest with a tennis court and a swimming pool - it was gorgeous - and the owners had gone off on safari and weren't due back until Christmas Eve.

Two or three days into the sit, we were watching telly and all the power went off. It was late on a Sunday evening, and we realised that all their Christmas dinner was in these really big freezers that had gone off.

So we realise, if we don’t do something, they're going to come back late on Christmas Eve, and they're going to have no Christmas dinner. And the champagne fridge was warming up at this point!

Anyway, we managed to drag a couple of the freezers to a part of the house that was still working.

Then we contacted the homeowners and called an electrician. We didn't have any power or heating for a couple of days, so we were a bit chilly, but it got sorted. The clients were very pleased with how we dealt with it, and they got their Christmas dinner.

Also, Homesitters have an emergency number you can call if anything goes wrong. They really look after you.

Do you travel far for jobs?

Frank: Homesitters try to give you jobs within an 80-mile radius, but sometimes they ask us to do jobs further away if they think we’re the right match.

Donna: Some are local, but we’ve done jobs as far away as Scotland and the New Forest. One of my favourites was a five-storey mansion in Kensington. We looked after Labradors, Chihuahuas and bald cats there!

Can you treat the homes as your own?

Donna: We have full use of everything - kitchen, washing machine, hoover, you name it. Sometimes the owner will say not to use a certain room, but that’s rare. Mostly, we’re trusted to treat the home as if it were our own.

Any unusual requests?

Donna: You’ve got to do things the way clients want them done. For instance, say a dog owner wants you to wipe down each paw, his bottom and his undercarriage with wet wipes after every walk. I mean, some people would laugh, but if that's what they want for their dog, that's what you do. You've got to do exactly what they want and what the animals are used to. That's what they're paying for.

Some houses we go to, the animals sleep on the bed. You've got to be prepared for things like that. If they say, well, that's where the dog sleeps, then that's where the dog sleeps.

What’s the most challenging pet you’ve cared for?

Donna: Probably big dogs that need lots of walks, like the time we had to walk four Labradors three times a day. On the flip side, we’ve had jobs where the dogs just run in the garden, so it balances out.

We’ve also cooked for dogs - meat, rice and veg every day. Others just need a scoop of kibble!

What kind of people make good house sitters?

Donna: You need to be organised. I keep folders and lists. There’s so much info to remember - feeding times, medications, routines.

Frank: You’ve also got to love animals and be happy to do things the way the owners want. It’s all about trust and care.

Any favourite assignments?

Donna: They’ve all been great for different reasons. We’ve looked after chickens, ducks, tropical fish, sheep, even axolotls! The animals make the job, really.

How long did the application process take?

Donna: About three months. There was a long interview, background and DBS checks, and we had to provide references. The agency is very thorough, but that’s what gives clients peace of mind.

Could someone make a full-time living from house sitting?

Frank: Maybe, if you didn’t have a home of your own and just moved from job to job. But there’s no guarantee of back-to-back bookings.

Is it mainly retirees who do this?

Donna: With our agency, yes, you have to be retired. I think people feel more comfortable leaving their home and pets with someone a bit older, and it means you have more availability.

So has house sitting enhanced your retirement?

Donna: it's been a wholly positive experience for us. We get to travel, look after lovely animals and stay in beautiful places.

Frank: And if we ever stop enjoying it, we’ll stop doing it, but for now, we’re loving it.