How to Get Free Accommodation by House Sitting in 2024

Have you ever thought of what it’d be like to have free accommodation? What if you could travel around the UK, or even the world, and find that you have your accommodation for free? Well, if you’re willing to house-sit, that’s exactly what you can achieve.

House sitting in the UK is something that is gaining in popularity. There are numerous stories of people who have made a real success of this alongside those who have managed to travel the world. The thing to note, though, is that often house and pet sitting go hand-in-hand, so if you’re an animal lover then you this could be something that really suits.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at just what house sitting is. We’re going to look at what you need to do to get free accommodation and we’ll take a look at if it’s possible to get paid for it too.

What is house sitting?

When you house sit, you’re simply staying in a house, and looking after it, while the owner is away. There may be duties that you’re given in return for the free accommodation, and often these include taking care of pets such as dogs and cats. House sitting in the UK, and in other locations, is generally unpaid. However, there are a handful of situations where you could charge for your services.

So, as you house-sit, what exactly will you be doing? Well, you’ll have full responsibility for taking care of the house. You’ll be expected to keep it safe and also deal with any problems that may arise. Let’s say there’s a burst pipe, it’s on you to get a plumber out to repair it before there’s any damage.

House and pet sitting are usually linked so that means that your other duties will be focused on animals. That means feeding them, exercising, cleaning and just making sure that they’re happy. You’ll often find that pets are people’s number one priority so you really need to be able to deliver in this area.

Why you should become a House Sitter:

House and pet sitting are popular for a reason. In fact, it’s popular for quite a few of them. Here’s a look at just a handful:

1) You get accommodation for free

When you house-sit, you benefit from free accommodation. Of course, you’re giving your time to be there, and you have responsibilities, but you’re not paying a penny. Many of the responsibilities that you’re given are the kind of things that you’d need to do in your own home anyway, so it’s no real problem.

While house sitting in the UK is popular, if you have the freedom to travel to wherever you want. The thing with travel at times is that the price of accommodation puts people off. If you’re travelling and have a house sit at your destination, free accommodation means that there’s nothing holding you back – go and explore the world!

2) House and pet sitting offers new experiences

When you house sit, you get to experience places that you may otherwise have never visited. While there are house-sitting opportunities in cities, you’ll also find that there are plenty of them in isolated, and even quirky, locations. This means that you get to open your eyes and mind to different ways of living.

It’s not just quirky that’s a possibility. When you take up your free accommodation, you may find that you’re somewhere that’s a little well-to-do. You could easily find yourself enjoying the life of luxury in an upmarket home with a whole host of perks and benefits.

3) Free accommodation leads to meeting new people

Whether you’re house-sitting in the UK, or anywhere else in the world, you can be sure that you’ll get to meet some wonderful new people. If you simply go on a holiday, it’s hard to make friends with the locals. You’re simply not there long enough and, to be honest, locals aren’t always the biggest fans of tourists. When you house sit, it’s different. You become a part of the community where you’re staying.

Making friends and new connections is great. It means that if you ever return to the same free accommodation, you already have a group of people that you know.

4) It’s better than a hotel

Okay, so getting accommodation for free obviously saves you money when compared to a hotel or hostel, but there’s more to it than that. A hotel room can be as luxurious as you please but there’s always something that reminds you that is just a hotel room. It will never quite feel like home.

When you house sit, there’s a completely different feel. The owner will insist that you treat the property like it’s your own. That means taking care of it, but it also means making the most of what’s there and taking the time to relax. You should soon start to feel at home.

5) Get close to some amazing pets

As we’ve said, house-sitting and pet-sitting often go together. This means that your free accommodation may well include a furry friend as pets are hugely popular. If you love animals then this is just an added bonus and adds to the experience. If animals aren’t your thing, you may need to be a little selective about the house sits that you take on.

How to get started with house sitting

Now you’ve seen the benefits that are offered, there’s a good chance that you’ll want to get on and house-sit. Here’s a look at the steps that you’ll need to take:

Register with a house-sitting website – unless you’re lucky enough to know plenty of people who need you to house-sit, the best thing to do is register with a site that matches house-sitters with those needing the service. There will be a fee involved but the site operator plays a role in ensuring that you’re kept safe so it’s well worth paying.

Create an appealing profile – it’s not a dating site but you still need to sell yourself on your quest for free accommodation. Make sure that you include a photo and any information you can that shows why you’re the best person to house-sit. This is your chance to sell yourself

Start to apply – when you’re profile is good to go, search the website you’ve registered with and find opportunities that appeal to you. If you find a house sit you want be sure to apply quickly as there tends to be plenty of competition

Get ready for rejection- landing accommodation for free is highly desirable and you’re not the only one trying. There will be times when you’re rejected and you may never know why. You need to just brush this off, move on and apply for the next one

Where can you register as a house sitter?

There are numerous websites where you can register to house sit and secure free accommodation. Just two of these are:

Trusted House Sitters:

This is the biggest, and perhaps the best known, house-sitting website. While there is an American arm to the business, the site also caters for house-sitting in the UK. In fact, when you start to browse through the thousands of opportunities that are posted, you’ll find that these are all over the world. If you want to register for house and pet sitting, Trusted House Sitters charges a £99 fee. This covers you for the year and allows you to house-sit as many times as you want.

House Sitters UK:

If you’re looking for house sitting in the UK, that’s what this site is exclusively about. This site is for house and pet sitting combined so you really need to be a fan of animals if you’re looking to register here. When it comes to fees, you’ll need to pay £29 per year. This is great value considering the number of times you could benefit from free accommodation in that time

Can I get paid for house-sitting?

With the sites that we’ve looked at you won’t get paid to house-sit. If you’re wanting payment, it may be worth exploring sites such as Gumtree and Craigslist where people post requests. The downside here is that you don’t get the same protections that the sites that we’ve looked at offer, and that’s why we really wouldn’t recommend it.

If you think the lack of pay is an issue, you just need to stop and consider what you get from the experience. Accommodation for free and all of the other benefits that we’ve explored are surely payment enough.

Final thoughts…

If you’re tempted to house-sit, don’t overthink it: just do it. Registering with websites is easy and within a matter of moments, you could be browsing thousands of opportunities Whether you’re looking at house sitting in the UK, or anywhere in the world, you are sure to have a fantastic experience.