Housepawty Terms (short, sweet, legally neat)

(Last updated 21 August 2025)

1) How a booking works now

Pick a sitter and pay in full
You choose a sitter, check their live availability, and pay the total at checkout. This reserves the dates and alerts the sitter.

Meet and greet within 24 hours
Your sitter will contact you within a day to set up a quick meet and greet in person or by video. Either side may walk away if the fit feels wrong or the job falls outside the sitter’s stated scope. If that happens, you can request a free rematch or a full refund.

Green-light and lock-in
If everyone is happy, we mark the booking confirmed and the sitter keeps the slot free. Our Refund Policy applies from this point.

Before and during the stay
The sitter arrives on time and follows the agreed plan.
If the client returns early for reasons outside the sitter’s control, unused nights are not refundable.
If the sitter must leave due to emergency or illness, unused nights are refunded to the client and the sitter is paid for completed nights.

(Full money flow and time windows live in the Refund Policy. These Terms point you there.)

2) Your responsibilities

Clients
Provide accurate addresses, emergency contacts, pet info, and house rules. Pay on time. Be available for the Meet-and-Greet.

Sitters
Offer only the services and locations on your profile. Follow the client’s written instructions. If safety feels uncertain, you may decline at Meet-and-Greet without penalty.

Everyone
Treat each other, the property, and all animals with care and respect.

Privacy and checks
Offline checks such as IDs, proof of residence, and referrals may be requested. We do not publish your private info.

3) Marketplace status

Housepawty is a marketplace and booking platform. We are not an employer, labour broker, or agent for either party. The service is delivered by the sitter you select.

4) Disputes and resolution

If something is off, act quickly.
Open My Account → Your booking → Request help within 14 days of the service end, or email info@housepawty.co.za with your order number. We respond within 48 hours, investigate, and propose a fair fix. If we cannot resolve it, either party may pursue further remedies as allowed by law.

5) Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. We both submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court of South Africa, unless we agree to another forum.

6) Severability

If any part of these Terms is found invalid or unenforceable, that part is removed and the rest remains in force.

7) Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Changes will be posted at least 14 days before they take effect. Bookings already made keep the Terms that applied when you clicked “Book”.

8) Refunds and cancellations

Our Refund Policy forms part of these Terms. Please read it. It explains when refunds apply, how to request a change, and the timing for payments and refunds.

💌 Questions? Ping info@housepawty.co.za and we will help.