Can you house-sit instead of renting? Australians turn to pet-minding to escape the housing crisis

The Guardian

a day ago

Jacqueline Mifsud remembers the moment in 2023 when she made what she now describes as a 'bold life decision' to step out of the rental market in favour of house- and pet-sitting. Since then she has become a full-time house- and cat-sitter in more than a dozen homes around Melbourne, including several return sits.
'Basically everything I own fits into my 1997 Toyota Starlet,' she says. 'I look for long sits – at least two weeks – so I can keep my routine and not feel as though I'm starting again every sit.'
The freelance graphics operator and standup comedian is one of a growing number of people relying on house- and pet-sitting as a means to save money in an increasingly tough property market – often while saving up for their own home deposits.
Although house-sitting is often promoted as a way to travel cheaply, the leading pet-sitting platform TrustedHousesitters reports an increase in domestic pet-sitting in Australia, with data showing 75% of Australian house-sits through the platform are being done by sitters within their own cities. A spokesperson from the site Aussie House Sitters confirmed that most are performed in the sitters' local area, usually to save money or out of housing insecurity.
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Mifsud's experiences in the Australian real estate market are common. After bouncing between increasingly toxic sharehouses in Melbourne's inner north for two decades, in 2021 she finally landed her own apartment in Preston for $345 a week. But, as the Covid slowdown dissipated, the agent informed her of a 30% rent increase to $450 a week – way outside her budget. Despite arguing that the apartment was in urgent need of repairs and providing a letter from her therapist stating that the situation was affecting her mental health, the agency wouldn't budge.
She made the decision to move out – to nowhere – and try relying on house-sitting to start saving towards her own place. 'I'm turning 40 and single and don't want to live in another shared house, and figure it's probably cheaper and better in the long run to buy my own little place rather than pay rent,' she says. 'I work freelance so it's hard to save when I don't have a consistent or guaranteed income.'
Relying on house-sitting gigs while touring her one-woman comedy show The Full Mifsud hasn't been easy. 'I never really planned on doing this full-time and it's a hell of a commitment. Having to worry about where I'm going to live next is stressful, even though I am extremely lucky that I have family I can stay with and know that I will always be safe.'
For Francesca Cross and Christopher Thrower, a British couple who lived in a flat in south London for a decade, minding people's homes and pets became a way to fulfil their dream of moving to Australia. In mid-2023 they moved out of their apartment and started a six-month period of house- and pet-sitting while saving for the big move.
'There are a lot of logistics when you house-sit full-time, such as trying to line them up nicely, meeting the owners, going through the pet's routine … it definitely takes a lot of planning and commitment,' they say.
By December 2023 they had saved up enough to make the move to Melbourne, where they had a house sit set up on their arrival. 'This was really nice to help us settle in and find our feet, without paying an extortionate rate for accommodation,' they say. 'Plus, the doggy, Lexie, was such a sweetheart and helped us with the transition to a new country we'd now be calling home.'
Leonie van Eyk, a film-maker and artist living in a small house on the edge of Castlemaine in Victoria with her dog, Scooter, says looking for a pet-sitter is different to simply putting your home on Airbnb, because you need to find someone who will understand your pet's peculiarities. 'Sharing your house and animals is very much a trust exercise,' she says. 'You want the pet-sitter to bond with your animal and feel at home.'
For this reason, Van Eyk prefers to source sitters from within her own community. 'That helps to build trust, knowing they are already connected to my community rather than just randoms,' she says.
'Also I'm aware that for some people this can give them some welcome breathing space. A friend of mine has a child and they can't secure rent in this town, as it's become so expensive. So our house becomes like a second home to her and she loves our dog.'
Rose Bishop, who has hosted Mifsud multiple times, agrees that she finds it easier to trust a local sitter. 'I've used an online pet-sitting service before but it was exorbitantly expensive and the sitter didn't even stay at my apartment,' she says.
When Mifsud isn't available, Bishop will ask 'friends who are trying to get out of their sharehouses for a while, or who are travelling to Melbourne and need accommodation – and so far it's always been comedians!'
'I love my dumb babies so much,' she says of her cats. 'It's so important to me that they're getting love and attention from someone in my community.'
Cross and Thrower say they have minded their share of 'characters' including a dog who peed with excitement every time they came home (they learned to not show him any love until they were outside) and a teenage cat called Kevin who had his own room and simply didn't like them. 'So it was less about, 'We need to talk about Kevin' and more, 'We need to leave Kevin alone.''
Mifsud says a conscientious attitude is vital. 'I've heard horror stories of bad pet-sitters – someone who killed someone's fish, another who didn't change the kitty litter for three weeks.
'It's a lot of work and admin, and people need to be doing it for the right reasons,' she says. 'You have to really love animals.
'There's a lot more people out there doing house- and pet-sits now owing to the cost-of-living crisis … I just want people considering this to take the responsibility seriously.'