Terms of service

These terms describe the conditions for using opensits.com and the OpenSits applications, including profiles, listings, applications, messages, reviews and support. In these terms, OpenSits, we, us and our refer to the OpenSits platform; you refers to the person using it. A homeowner or host is a member offering a home and requesting care. A sitter is a member agreeing to provide that care during a sit.

Read these terms before using the matching service. The Safety & sitting rules form part of these terms. The Privacy policy separately explains how personal information is handled; reading or accepting these terms is not consent to every use of personal information.

OpenSits helps homeowners and sitters find one another, communicate and arrange sits. The sitting arrangement is made directly between those members. OpenSits is not a party to that arrangement and does not employ a sitter, provide the accommodation or perform the home or pet care.

We do not inspect each home, supervise each sit or guarantee the accuracy of every listing, profile or review. We do not guarantee a member’s suitability, conduct or availability, the condition of a home, the health or behaviour of a pet, or that a sit will meet either member’s expectations.

Members must assess the information available, ask questions, disclose relevant circumstances and decide for themselves whether to proceed. The limitations in this section do not remove our responsibility for our own obligations or any rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

You must be at least 18 and legally able to enter into the arrangements you make through OpenSits. Provide accurate account and profile information, keep it current and complete any verification required for the features you use. Do not impersonate someone else, misrepresent your experience or allow someone else to use your account as you.

Keep your login details secure and tell us promptly if you believe your account has been compromised. You are responsible for activity you authorise through your account. Nothing in these terms makes you automatically responsible for unauthorised activity where applicable law provides otherwise.

You must have the permissions needed to offer the home, care for the pets and enter the country where the sit takes place. Check relevant property, tenancy, immigration and other local requirements yourself; a confirmed sit does not establish those permissions.

An application, shortlist or conversation does not confirm a sit. The OpenSits confirmation flow is completed when the homeowner selects the sitter and the sitter accepts that selection. Both members must agree the material details before taking that step.

Discuss the dates, arrival and departure times, handover, people who will be present, pet routines, medication, time pets can be left alone, household duties, access, hazards, cameras, insurance and emergency arrangements. A call, video tour or meeting can help you decide whether the arrangement is suitable. Keep an accurate written record of the agreed details in your OpenSits conversation.

Only agree to responsibilities you understand and can reasonably fulfil. Each member makes their own decision about the disclosed risks and suitability of the sit. This does not require anyone to accept undisclosed hazards, misleading information or a breach of these terms, or to give up rights protected by law.

You must have authority to offer the home and arrange care for the pets. Your listing, photographs and messages must accurately represent the home, its condition, facilities and location, the pets and the work involved. Do not omit information that would reasonably affect a sitter’s decision.

Provide a safe, reasonably clean and habitable home with the facilities and access you agreed. Disclose material defects, hazards, other occupants, planned visitors, contractors, access restrictions and any unusual duties or costs before confirmation. Tell the sitter promptly if anything material changes.

Give accurate information about each pet’s health, temperament, history of aggression or escape, medication and care needs. Provide adequate food, supplies, clear instructions, veterinary details, an emergency contact and a reliable backup care arrangement. Do not request care that a sitter has not agreed to or cannot reasonably provide.

Describe your experience and abilities honestly. Take reasonable care of the home, belongings and pets, follow the agreed lawful and reasonable instructions, and respect access restrictions and the homeowner’s privacy. Do not bring additional people or animals, arrange a substitute sitter or use the property for another purpose without prior agreement.

Tell the homeowner promptly about illness, injury, loss, damage or another material problem. Seek appropriate urgent help when needed. Do not leave pets without suitable care: if you cannot continue, promptly contact the homeowner and backup carer to arrange a safe handover, taking account of your own immediate safety.

Do not record private household information or publish photographs, addresses or identifying details of someone else’s home or family without appropriate permission.

Homeowners must ensure that no indoor cameras or audio or video surveillance devices are present in the home during a sit. This includes hidden cameras, pet and baby cameras, and devices installed or positioned to monitor people indoors. Turning a surveillance device off, disconnecting it or obtaining a sitter’s permission does not create an exception: the device must be removed before the sit begins.

Remote live viewing or listening is also prohibited, whether or not anything is saved. Smart devices with occupant-monitoring features must not be used to circumvent this rule. Ordinary personal phones and computers may be used normally, but must not be installed or used to conduct surveillance of the sitter, homeowner or other occupants.

Exterior cameras and video doorbells must be clearly disclosed before a sitter commits, including their location, coverage and whether they capture audio. They must not view or listen into the interior of the home or other private spaces. Notify the sitter of any changes before the sit and give them the opportunity to reconsider.

These are strict OpenSits rules, regardless of whether a device would otherwise be permitted by local law. Surveillance may also breach privacy or other laws. Report a suspected breach through OpenSits support; serious or repeated breaches may lead to removal of listings or account restrictions.

OpenSits does not provide insurance, a damage guarantee, veterinary cover or a promise to reimburse losses connected with a sit. Membership, identity verification and sit confirmation do not create insurance cover.

Homeowners are responsible for assessing and obtaining appropriate home, contents, pet, veterinary and liability insurance where needed. Check directly with your insurer that your chosen sitting arrangement and the people involved are covered, and comply with any notification requirements or conditions. Do not assume an ordinary policy covers a house sitter or every incident.

Sitters should assess their own relevant liability, travel and medical cover. Members should discuss relevant cover, exclusions, excesses and responsibility for agreed expenses before confirmation. OpenSits does not verify that a member has suitable cover. Insurance does not remove either member’s responsibility for their own conduct.

Before the sit, agree how to contact the homeowner, the pet’s vet and a backup carer, what to do if the homeowner cannot be reached, and what emergency treatment and expenditure the sitter is authorised to arrange. Homeowners must make reasonable arrangements for necessary veterinary care and its payment.

If a person or animal is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services or a vet as appropriate. Do not delay urgent help while waiting for OpenSits. Our support service is not an emergency service and we do not guarantee immediate assistance or replacement care.

Responsibility for an incident or its costs depends on the agreed arrangement, the facts and applicable law. These terms do not automatically make a sitter liable for every illness or accident, or excuse either member’s negligence or other wrongdoing.

Honour confirmed arrangements and tell the other member promptly if you need to change or cancel. Obtain agreement to material changes; do not assume that the original confirmation covers additional pets, duties, occupants or different dates. Use the available in-app cancellation or withdrawal process and keep the other member informed.

A member may refuse to begin, or end, a sit because of a material misdescription, an undisclosed serious risk, prohibited surveillance or another serious breach. Report the issue and, where safe, explain it to the other member. Nobody is required by these terms to remain in immediate danger. Arrange safe pet care or contact a vet, backup carer or appropriate local service as the circumstances require.

OpenSits does not promise to pay for replacement accommodation, travel, alternative pet care or other cancellation costs. Any claim between members is governed by their arrangement and applicable law, and the liability protections in the section below remain in place.

Verification badges identify particular checks, such as an email, phone or identity check. They are not a criminal-record check unless expressly described as one, and are not an endorsement or guarantee of skill, character, safety or future conduct. Imported reviews describe feedback from another source and may relate to different circumstances. Consider these signals alongside direct communication and your own assessment.

Only upload content you have the right to share. Keep listings and reviews honest, relevant and respectful. Do not post threats, discriminatory abuse, unlawful content, private information without authority, fabricated reviews or misleading claims. Do not misuse messages, scrape personal information, send spam or interfere with the service.

You retain ownership of your content. You give OpenSits a non-exclusive, royalty-free permission to host, store, reproduce, format and display it as needed to operate the features you use, including public listing previews where applicable. This does not grant ownership of your content or permission to use private messages in advertising. The Privacy policy explains visibility, deletion and the records that may need to remain.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, OpenSits is not responsible for the acts or omissions of homeowners, sitters or other third parties in connection with a sit. This includes damage to or loss of a home or belongings; a pet’s injury, illness, escape, loss or death; a home or pet differing from its description; and disputes, cancellations or failure to perform an arrangement between members.

These exclusions apply to risks arising from the member-to-member arrangement. They do not exclude liability to the extent a loss results from OpenSits’ own breach of a legal obligation for which liability cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. We remain responsible for the obligations that applicable law places on our provision of the platform.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, death or personal injury caused by negligence where that liability cannot be excluded, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. Nothing removes mandatory consumer rights or any remedies available under applicable law.

A member remains responsible for their own wrongful conduct and breaches of their agreement or applicable law. Deciding to proceed with a sit does not waive a claim for undisclosed dangers, misrepresentation or other wrongdoing.

Report safety concerns, prohibited surveillance, misleading listings, abusive conduct or suspected misuse through the reporting tools or Help in the app. Include relevant facts and evidence you can lawfully provide. Do not put yourself at risk to obtain evidence.

We may investigate reports, request information, remove content, limit features or suspend or close an account where reasonably necessary to address breaches, unlawful activity or safety and security risks. We aim to explain the reason and provide a way to request review, except where doing so would compromise safety, an investigation or a legal obligation.

We may help members communicate about a dispute, but do not guarantee a settlement, compensation or a determination of legal responsibility. You may pursue the remedies and complaints routes available under applicable law. Contact support if you wish to challenge an account decision or raise a complaint about OpenSits.

The matching service is offered free of membership and booking fees. If an optional paid feature is offered, its price and applicable payment terms must be shown before you choose it; a free account does not authorise a charge. We do not guarantee uninterrupted access and may need to maintain, change or discontinue features, subject to applicable law and reasonable notice where appropriate.

You can stop using OpenSits and request account deletion through the app or support. Resolve outstanding sits and care arrangements safely. Closing an account does not erase another member’s rights, remove obligations already incurred or necessarily delete every shared or legally required record. See the Privacy policy for more information.

We may update these terms and will identify the updated version and date. Material changes will be brought to members’ attention with appropriate notice, and renewed agreement obtained where required. Changes do not retrospectively remove rights or alter a completed arrangement simply because a new page is published.

Members must comply with laws applicable to their use of OpenSits and the location of the sit. Nothing in these terms deprives you of mandatory protections or access to courts available under applicable law. If a provision cannot be enforced, the remaining provisions continue to apply to the extent permitted by law.

For questions about these terms, a sit or an account decision, contact OpenSits. For immediate danger, contact local emergency services or a vet first.