Home > Blog > Negative Review on a House Sitting Site
Quick Facts
| First 24 hours | Do not respond yet — step away and give it at least a day |
| THS review policy | 100% tamper-proof — reviews cannot be removed unless they violate ToS |
| Review window | 14 days after the sit ends — after that it closes permanently |
| Best response structure | Acknowledge, state your perspective factually, show what you learned, close professionally |
| Long-term fix | Dilute with new reviews — one bad review in twenty is context, not a verdict |
The notification appears and your stomach drops. You thought the sit went well. The cats were happy, the house was clean, the homeowner seemed pleased when they came home. And there it is: three stars and a criticism you did not expect.
This happens. Across 17 sits and three years, Caro and I have maintained a strong review record, but we understand exactly how this feels because we have spoken to many sitters who have been through it. House sitting platforms are built on trust and a review below five stars feels disproportionately significant when you are at the start of your history.
Here is the honest guide to handling it well.
The First 24 Hours: Do Not Respond Yet
The instinct is to respond immediately: to correct what is inaccurate, to explain what happened, to defend yourself. Resist this entirely for at least a few hours. Ideally a full day.
An emotional, defensive response written in the immediate aftermath of seeing a bad review is almost always worse than the review itself. Future homeowners reading your profile will see both the review and your response. A response that reads as defensive, accusatory, or disproportionate signals something about your character under pressure that no amount of good reviews will fully undo.
Close the laptop. Go for a walk. Let the initial reaction pass.
When you come back, read the review again with as much distance as you can manage. Identify the specific complaint. Is it about cleanliness? Pet care frequency? Communication? A misunderstanding about the welcome guide? Understanding what they are actually saying, even if you believe it is unfair, is the starting point for a response that helps your profile rather than damaging it further.
How to Write a Response That Actually Works
Your public response is the most visible thing you will do. People reading your profile before a sit read the reviews and they read the responses. A mature, measured reply to a difficult review often says more about you than a page of five-star results without any challenge.
The structure that works: acknowledge, state your perspective briefly and factually, show what you took from the experience, close professionally.
Acknowledge the feedback without agreeing with every point. "Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback from our sit" opens without defensiveness and without conceding things that were not your fault.
State your perspective once, factually, without attacking. If there was a miscommunication about the garden watering schedule, say that. "There seems to have been a miscommunication about the garden watering routine, and I regret that it did not meet your expectations." This is not the same as admitting fault you did not have. It acknowledges that the experience fell short for the homeowner, which is true regardless of the cause.
Show what you are taking from it. "Moving forward I will make sure to go through a detailed checklist with homeowners before departure to ensure all expectations are clear." This line does the most work with future homeowners. It shows you respond to feedback constructively rather than defensively. What matters is not whether the specific criticism was fair. What matters is that your response shows someone who learns and improves.
Close cleanly. "I enjoyed caring for [pet's name] and wish you all the best." Short, professional, without bitterness.
If you are unsure whether your drafted response still carries too much of the original emotion, paste it into an AI tool and ask it to remove defensive or emotional language while keeping the substance. A useful final check before posting something permanent.
One critical detail: you only get one reply. THS does not allow a back-and-forth exchange in the public review section. Once you have responded, that is the end of your public voice on that review. There is no second reply option. This makes the quality of your single response more important, not less. Every word needs to be considered, professional, and final. If their response to your reply says something you want to address, the place to do that is a private complaint to THS, not a second public comment.
What Platforms Can and Cannot Do
Every major house sitting platform has a version of the same policy: reviews are hard to remove and authenticity is protected. The specifics vary by platform (the table later in this article covers each one), but the general principles apply across all of them.
Most platforms will not remove a negative review simply because you disagree with it. Removal is typically reserved for reviews that clearly violate platform terms: private information, threats, demonstrably false factual claims, or discriminatory language. If a review falls into one of these categories, contact the platform's support team with evidence and a specific description of which policy the review breaches.
Some platforms use a double-blind review system (TrustedHouseSitters, Aussie House Sitters, Kiwi House Sitters). Neither party can see what the other has written until both reviews are submitted, or a deadline passes. This is designed to encourage honest feedback without fear of retaliation. If you have not yet submitted your own review when a negative one appears, your review is still hidden from the homeowner until you post it or the window closes.
Other platforms (House Sitters UK, Canada, America) are not blind. Reviews post independently and publicly. House Carers moderates reviews before they publish. MindMyHouse requires recipient approval before a review goes live. Understanding which system your platform uses tells you what you can and cannot do in response.
Most platforms operate a 14-day review window. Both parties must submit within 14 days of the sit ending. The window closes permanently after that. Do not let it close without submitting your own review of the homeowner.
For TrustedHouseSitters specifically, there are two separate deadlines and they are different: the review window is 14 days from the end of the sit, after which you can no longer leave a review. The formal complaint window is 30 days from the end of the sit, after which THS will not investigate. If a sit ends badly, do not wait. Submit your review and your complaint on the same day, well inside the 14-day mark, and you are safely within both windows. Our conflict resolution guide covers the exact process for escalating a review dispute, including what documentation THS accepts.
How Other Platforms Handle Reviews
The review system you are using matters. Each platform has different rules, and understanding them affects how you respond and what recourse you have.
| Platform | Double-blind? | Review window | Member removal? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TrustedHouseSitters | Yes | 14 days | No — 100% tamper-proof | Platform removes only for clear ToS violations |
| Aussie House Sitters | Yes | 14 days | No — respond within 21 days | Can edit your own before other party submits |
| Kiwi House Sitters | Yes | 14 days | Not detailed | Blind system promotes honest feedback |
| House Sitters UK | No | 14 days | No — platform may delete for ToS violations | One response within 21 days; can feature one review |
| House Sitters Canada | No | 14 days | No — same rules as UK/US sites | Star ratings across 4 categories; one response allowed |
| House Sitters America | No | 14 days | No — platform may delete ToS violations | Response allowed within 21 days |
| Nomador | No | No strict deadline | Reporting to moderators | You can choose not to leave a reference |
| House Carers | No | No strict deadline | Platform approves before publishing | Written-only, no stars; disparaging remarks not allowed |
| MindMyHouse | No | No strict deadline | Recipient must approve before publishing | Negatives can effectively be blocked by recipient |
| Mindahome AU | Not specified | Not specified | Reportedly no negative reviews allowed for sitters | Limited public review mechanics |
Three platforms use the double-blind model: TrustedHouseSitters, Aussie House Sitters, and Kiwi House Sitters. These are the systems where the advice in this article is most relevant, since both parties submit independently without seeing each other's review first.
House Carers moderates reviews before publishing. The platform approves content before it goes live, which means overtly negative or inappropriate reviews may not be published. MindMyHouse goes further: the recipient must approve the testimonial before it publishes, so a negative review can effectively be blocked. Mindahome AU reportedly does not allow negative reviews for sitters at all.
House Sitters UK, Canada, and America follow a consistent non-blind model with 14-day review windows, no self-removal, and one response allowed within 21 days. UK House Sitters also allows you to "feature" one review to pin it at the top of your profile, which is useful for counterbalancing a negative review that appears further down your list.
The Long-Term Fix: Dilution
One negative review in a profile of twenty is context. It shows you are a real person who has done many sits. Homeowners who read profiles carefully understand this. What they are looking for is the pattern, not the outlier.
The most effective response to a negative review is to focus immediately on getting the next few positive ones. Apply for shorter, local sits to rebuild your run of recent reviews quickly. A negative review six positions down in a list of positive ones has far less impact than a negative review at the top of a three-review profile.
Focus on the quality of your applications during this period. A specific, personalised message matters more when your recent review history is not your strongest. Our profile guide and application guide cover how to make your application stand out on its own terms.
When a Review Feels Malicious
Occasionally a review goes beyond a disagreement and feels retaliatory or deliberately dishonest. The Montanel situation we describe in our car use guide is an example of the kind of homeowner behaviour that can lead to this: a homeowner who changes the terms after the sit is confirmed and then uses the review as leverage or retaliation.
In these situations: document everything. Screenshot all communications. Contact the platform's support team with a clear, factual account and all supporting evidence before the review window closes. Even if the platform does not remove the review, you have an official record of your account of events.
Your public response to a malicious review should be measured and professional. State calmly that your experience of the sit differed from the review and that you have raised the matter with the platform. Do not get into detail in the public response. The detailed account belongs in the platform complaint, not on your profile page.
Conclusion
A negative review is uncomfortable but it is not a career-ending event. The platform is built around a long review history and one difficult result in that history is part of the reality of sitting with many different homeowners.
The response matters more than the review itself. A calm, professional, forward-looking reply to a bad review tells future homeowners something about your character that no volume of five-star results can convey on their own. Handle it well, keep sitting, and the record builds from there.
Start building your review history on TrustedHouseSitters using our 25% discount, or on Aussie House Sitters (code HSG15) for Australia and Nomador for France and Europe.
DM us @housesittersguide on Instagram if you have a specific review situation you are navigating. We answer everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I respond to a negative house sitting review?
Yes, always. But not immediately. Wait at least a few hours, ideally a full day. Future homeowners read both the review and your reply. A calm, professional response to a difficult review often strengthens your profile more than the review damages it.
Can TrustedHouseSitters remove a negative review?
Not on most platforms, unless the review clearly violates their terms: private information, threats, demonstrably false claims, or discriminatory content. Most major platforms operate a tamper-proof or moderated review policy. For standard negative reviews, your public response is your primary tool. Check the platform comparison table in this article for your specific platform's policy.
What should I say in response to a bad review?
Acknowledge the feedback, state your perspective once and factually, show what you are taking from the experience, and close professionally. Avoid defensive or accusatory language. The goal is to demonstrate character under pressure, not to win a public argument.
Will one negative review ruin my house sitting profile?
No, particularly if you respond well. One negative review in a profile of many is context, not a verdict. The pattern matters more than any single outlier. Focus on getting the next few positive reviews promptly and the negative review recedes in significance.
What if the review seems retaliatory or malicious?
Document everything, contact the platform's support team with evidence, and keep your public response measured. Your detailed account of events belongs in a platform complaint, not in the public response. For TrustedHouseSitters specifically, our conflict resolution guide covers the full process and what documentation THS accepts.
