A house sitting listing gets applications when the first thing a sitter sees answers four questions: the exact dates, the suburb, which animals, and how much care they need each day. On Sitterly the description box holds 400 characters, about sixty words, so a listing cannot do that job in prose. It does it through an 80 character title and the structured fields underneath. Some of those fields are what sitters filter on before they open anything: the suburb, the dates, the animal, the home type, how long the sit runs, how many pets and the amenities.
Listings that attract nobody fail the same way. They describe the house, which the homeowner knows best, and skip the animals and the routine, which is the whole of what a sitter is taking on.
Your listing is a filter before it is a description
A sitter narrows the sits by suburb, dates and animal, opens a handful of what survives, and applies to fewer. Every field you fill in, and every one you leave blank, does part of that narrowing for you, whether you meant it to or not. The same decision from the other side is in why house sitters do not get picked.
| Field | What a sitter does with it | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Title, up to 80 characters | Reads it as the headline on the browse card, above the suburb and a two line snippet | Named after the house, not the animals, suburb and dates |
| Description, up to 400 characters | Decides whether to apply or scroll on | Spent on the renovation instead of the routine |
| Available from and to | The first filter, before anything else | Given as a month, or left open ended |
| Flexible dates | Reads it as a badge on your listing saying the dates could shift | Ticked when the dates are a booked flight |
| Each pet's name, type, breed, age and notes | Judges whether they have handled an animal like yours | One line reading two dogs, notes box empty |
| Photos, up to five, plus one per pet | Works out where they sleep and what the animals look like | Five of the kitchen, none of the spare room |
| Bedrooms, amenities, nearby attractions | Checks for a desk, wifi, parking, laundry, a dog park | Left blank on a home that has them |
Two listings for the same house, and only one gets applications
Both listings below were written for this article. They are illustrations, not real listings or real people, and Sitterly publishes no data on how member listings perform. Each shows the title first, then the description.
This is the version that gets scrolled past.
“Beautiful renovated family home in a quiet leafy street. Lovely three bedroom home, close to shops, cafes and transport, fully furnished, big backyard and a new kitchen. Looking for a reliable and trustworthy sitter for our two dogs while we are away in January. Must love animals. Dates flexible.”
Same house, same dogs, same trip.
“Two dogs in Bardon, 14 to 28 January, one on daily medication. Nella (7, kelpie cross, calm indoors) and Biscuit (3, staffy, pulls hard on lead, so they walk separately). Around 90 minutes of care a day: two walks, two feeds, an arthritis tablet in Nella's breakfast. Five hours alone is the limit. Neither is good with cats. Own room and bathroom, off street parking, NBN and a desk.”
The second oversells nothing, and still fits inside 400 characters. It is simply written for the person reading it.
| What changed | Why it changes who applies |
|---|---|
| The title names the animals, the suburb and the dates | It is the headline on the browse card, so it decides whether the listing gets opened |
| Exact dates instead of in January | Dates are the first filter, and a booked flight is not a window |
| Each dog named, with age, breed and temperament | A sitter can tell whether they have handled a dog like yours |
| The medication is in the listing, not saved for the handover | Sitters confident with medication come forward, the rest step aside |
| The daily care is totalled in minutes | Nobody can plan a day around light pet care |
| The maximum time alone is stated | Decides whether a sitter who works on site can take the sit at all |
| Must love animals is gone | It fits every listing in the country, so it separates nobody |
| Flexible dates dropped, because the flights are booked | A sitter who reads that badge and applies on it withdraws when the dates will not move |
The two lines that do the most work are the daily hours and the time alone
Light pet care tells a sitter nothing. Ninety minutes across a walk, two feeds and a tablet tells them everything, and so does a ceiling on how long the house can be left empty, which is the line a sitter with work or study commitments needs before they can apply.
The RSPCA's guidance on planning for your pets when you go away, published 22 December 2020, says a carer needs your pet's vet records and your vet's contact details, and that a cat left at home needs someone in twice a day to feed it, change litter trays and give it company. What belongs in writing before the sit is covered in what a house sitter is responsible for and the Australian house sitting agreement.
Naming the hard parts gets you a better sitter, not fewer
A reactive dog, a cat that bites when overstimulated, a puppy still learning the toilet, a 5am feed. Leaving these out does not win you a better applicant. It wins you one who finds out on day two, alone, in a house they do not know.
If your dog shows what the RSPCA describes as toileting in the house, destructiveness, excessive barking, digging or pacing when left alone, put it in the listing and see your vet before you travel. Who carries the duty of care for an animal is set by state and territory law, and the definitions are broad. In Queensland, the state government's guidance on the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 says a person in charge of an animal includes anyone who "has custody of the animal, including care or control of the animal". Check your own state or territory regulator for the position where you live.
Say it in the listing, not at the handover
A behaviour disclosed up front is a fair warning a sitter can accept or decline. Revealed on the first night, it becomes a problem somebody else has to solve alone, in your home, with your animal.
Photograph the room the sitter will sleep in before you photograph your kitchen
Lead with the bedroom the sitter will use, made up and in daylight, then their bathroom, then each animal, then the living space and the fencing. The kitchen goes last. Your listing shows a suburb and an approximate map rather than your street address, so still check each shot for a house number, mail on the bench or an alarm panel.
When nobody applies, change one thing at a time
- Add the routine and the hours. This is usually the whole problem.
- Reply faster. Sitterly shows a reply rating from 1 to 5 built on how quickly a member responds, so silence is visible.
- Widen the dates by a day either side, if that is genuinely true.
- Fill in the amenities and the home type. A blank field cannot match a sitter searching on it.
- Check the sit suits one person. Three dogs, a puppy, a pool and a large garden over Christmas is a job, not a sit.
- Approach sitters yourself. Browse sitter profiles, filter by police check, and message people whose experience matches your animals.
In December and January, timing does more work than wording. Our guide on when to book a pet sitter for Christmas has the 2026-27 school dates state by state.
Questions homeowners ask about listings
- How long should a house sitting listing be?
- The question is settled for you. The description field holds 400 characters, about sixty words, so spend them on the animals, the routine and the dates, and let the fields underneath carry the practical detail.
- How do I find a sitter who holds a police check?
- Filter the sitter directory. Verification on Sitterly is email, which is automatic, and an optional police check started by the member and reviewed by an administrator, and you can browse sitters filtered by police check. Sitterly does not vet, screen or approve members, so who stays in your home is your decision.
- Does it cost anything to list my home?
- No. Sitterly is free for homeowners, no money changes hands for the sit itself, and there is no per booking commission.
Write down what you already know
None of this asks you to write well. It asks you to write down what you already live with: who your animals are, what an ordinary day costs in minutes, and what you are asking someone to do. Struggling listings are rarely careless. They are written by people so used to their own routine that they forget a stranger cannot see it.
Open a blank listing, put the animals and the dates in the title, and give the 400 characters to the routine. It is free to post a listing, and reading the homes currently listed the way a sitter would shows you what yours is missing.
General information for Australian homeowners, not legal or veterinary advice. Animal welfare law differs between states and territories. For your own animals speak to your vet, and for your obligations check your state or territory regulator.
