Why Stronger Pet Care Standards Matter, and Why We Did Not Wait for Legislation

The pet care industry is changing, and the conversation around stronger regulation is beginning to gather real momentum. A proposed Pet Care Regulation Act is calling for clearer, more consistent and welfare-focused standards across the sector, including improved accountability, better verification and stronger protections for the animals placed in someone else’s care.

For many pet owners, this discussion will feel long overdue. When someone is trusted with a beloved pet, they are not simply being asked to feed an animal, take a dog for a walk or keep an eye on a property. They are being given responsibility for an animal’s safety, emotional wellbeing, health, medication, routine and behaviour. In a house and pet-sitting arrangement, they are also being trusted with access to someone’s private home, belongings and personal information.

That level of responsibility deserves more than a profile, a few photographs and an exchange of messages. It deserves proper safeguards, clear expectations and genuine accountability on both sides of the arrangement.

A Sector in Need of Greater Accountability

The wider pet care industry includes many highly responsible professionals, experienced carers and compassionate individuals who take their responsibilities seriously. However, the standards people encounter can vary considerably depending on where they look, which service they use and whether an arrangement is paid, unpaid or organised informally through social media.

Some pet care services are licensed and subject to local authority oversight, while others remain largely outside the existing framework. House and pet sitting within the animal’s own home is one area where requirements, checks and protections can differ significantly between individuals, businesses and online platforms.

This can leave homeowners unsure about who they are allowing into their home, whether the person has appropriate insurance, whether their identity has been verified and what training or experience they actually have. It may also be unclear what happens if concerns arise, an animal becomes unwell or the arrangement breaks down.

Guardians can face uncertainty too. They may not know whether the homeowner’s insurance covers a sitter staying in the property, whether cameras or listening devices are present inside the home or whether important information about an animal’s health, behaviour and routine has been fully disclosed. Trust cannot be placed entirely on one side. A responsible house and pet-sitting arrangement should protect the pets, the homeowner and the person providing the care.

We Did Not Wait for Legislation

At The Guardians Tribe, we have always believed that legal minimums should not determine the maximum level of protection a responsible platform is willing to provide. Legislation can take years to develop, debate and introduce, but the risks faced by homeowners, Guardians and animals already exist today.

We created The Guardians Tribe after experiencing the house and pet-sitting industry ourselves and seeing both the incredible opportunities it could offer and the gaps that could place people and animals at risk. House and pet sitting can create freedom, meaningful connections and opportunities for people to travel or receive trusted care at home. However, when arrangements are built primarily around convenience, with limited verification or accountability, those benefits can quickly be overshadowed by uncertainty.

That is why we began building stronger protections into The Guardians Tribe from the beginning. We did not want to wait until legislation forced platforms to take responsibility. We wanted to create a community where trust was supported by practical systems rather than simply assumed.

Mandatory Identity Verification

Every member of The Guardians Tribe is required to complete identity verification before they can fully use the platform. This applies equally to homeowners, Guardians and Dual Members because we believe trust must work in both directions.

Identity verification cannot remove every possible risk, but it provides an important foundation. It helps confirm that members are who they claim to be, discourages false or misleading profiles and creates a stronger level of accountability than simply allowing anyone to create an account and begin contacting others.

For homeowners, this offers greater reassurance about the person they may be inviting into their home. For Guardians, it provides confidence that the homeowner and listing are connected to a genuine individual. Trust begins with knowing who you are communicating with.

Insurance Requirements for Both Sides

Guardians are required to hold appropriate pet-sitting insurance, whether they are providing paid care or taking part in an unpaid exchange arrangement. We do not believe responsibility disappears simply because money is not changing hands. The same pet is being cared for, the same home is being accessed and the same risks remain.

Homeowners are also expected to confirm that their home insurance is suitable for having a sitter or guest stay in the property. This encourages both parties to check their cover before a sit begins, rather than discovering after an incident that the arrangement was excluded or misunderstood.

Insurance is not about creating fear or unnecessary barriers. It is about ensuring that everyone understands their responsibilities and has taken reasonable steps to protect themselves, the animals and the property involved.

Manual Reviews of Profiles and Listings

Every Guardian profile and homeowner listing is manually reviewed before it becomes visible on The Guardians Tribe. We do not believe that every decision should be left to automated systems, particularly when the platform is built around trust, access to private homes and responsibility for animals.

A human review allows us to identify missing information, unclear expectations and areas where further detail may be required. It also gives us the opportunity to help members improve their profiles and listings so that other people can make more informed decisions.

Manual reviews do not replace the need for members to communicate openly, arrange video calls and ask detailed questions before agreeing to a sit. However, they provide an additional layer of oversight and help maintain greater consistency across the community.

DBS and International Equivalent Checks

Members can provide evidence of a DBS check or the appropriate equivalent available in their own country. When suitable evidence is supplied and verified, this can be displayed as a trust indicator on their profile.

The Guardians Tribe is a global platform, so we recognise that background-check systems differ between countries. Not every nation uses the same terminology, processes or levels of disclosure. Our aim is to make those differences understandable while giving members the opportunity to demonstrate that they have taken additional steps to build trust.

Background checks are only one part of a wider picture and should never be treated as a guarantee of behaviour. However, when combined with identity verification, insurance, references, communication and manual reviews, they can provide another useful layer of reassurance.

Training and Education

Caring for animals requires more than simply liking pets. Every animal has its own health needs, personality, behaviour, routine and emotional responses. A responsible Guardian needs to understand the importance of observation, communication, emergency preparation and following the homeowner’s instructions carefully.

Paid members of The Guardians Tribe receive access to our House & Pet Sitting Essentials course, which is designed to help members understand the practical responsibilities involved in caring for someone else’s pets and home. Members can also access accredited pet first-aid, pet-care and behaviour training through our trusted education partners.

Training helps Guardians feel more prepared and confident, but its value goes far beyond personal development. Better education can improve communication, reduce avoidable mistakes and help someone recognise when an animal’s behaviour or health has changed. This can make a meaningful difference when a pet owner is many miles away.

Clear Camera and Monitoring-Device Disclosure

Homeowners are required to disclose cameras, listening devices and other monitoring equipment before a sit takes place. Indoor cameras must not remain active while a Guardian is staying in the property.

We understand that homeowners may use external cameras or security systems to protect their home and animals. However, Guardians also have a right to privacy and should never discover undisclosed monitoring devices after arriving at a sit.

Clear disclosure allows both parties to discuss what equipment is present, why it is being used and whether they are comfortable proceeding. Transparency at the beginning of an arrangement helps prevent mistrust and conflict later.

Reporting, Feedback and Accountability

The Guardians Tribe has clear procedures for reporting concerns, responding to complaints and addressing breaches of our community standards. This includes a three-strike policy for repeated issues and immediate removal where serious misconduct, safeguarding concerns or major breaches occur.

We also use honest written feedback rather than relying entirely on star ratings. A simple number cannot always reflect the complexity of a house and pet-sitting experience, and star-based systems can sometimes discourage people from raising genuine concerns because they fear retaliation or conflict.

Accountability should mean more than receiving a poor rating and continuing as normal. Members should understand what is expected of them, how concerns will be handled and what action may be taken if they repeatedly or seriously fail to meet the standards of the community.

Stronger Standards Protect Responsible People

The debate around pet care regulation should not be viewed as an attack on responsible carers, small businesses or people who arrange unpaid house sits. Clear and proportionate standards can help protect the people who are already acting responsibly.

Stronger standards can help pet owners understand what they should expect and what questions they should ask. They can help experienced Guardians demonstrate their professionalism and make it harder for uninsured, misleading or unsuitable individuals to operate without scrutiny.

They can also encourage platforms to take greater responsibility for the environments they create. A platform should not simply introduce two people, collect a membership fee and step away from everything that happens afterwards. It should establish clear expectations, support responsible decision-making, provide education and take concerns seriously when they are raised.

Building Where the Industry Is Heading

The proposed Pet Care Regulation Act is bringing an important conversation into the open. What protections should pet owners reasonably expect? What responsibilities should apply to those providing care? What role should online platforms play, and how should paid and unpaid arrangements be treated?

These questions deserve careful and balanced answers. Regulation must protect animal welfare and improve accountability without making responsible arrangements unnecessarily difficult or inaccessible. It must also recognise the differences between commercial boarding, professional pet sitting, unpaid exchanges and the platforms that facilitate those connections.

At The Guardians Tribe, we support the movement towards clearer, welfare-first standards across the pet care industry. We also believe house and pet sitting must be properly represented within those discussions, particularly because many arrangements currently fall outside the systems that regulate other forms of animal care.

We are not claiming that the work is finished. Standards must continue to evolve as the industry changes, new risks emerge and members share their experiences. However, we did not wait for legislation before beginning that work.

Identity verification, insurance requirements, manual reviews, DBS and equivalent background-check indicators, education, camera disclosure and clear accountability are already part of the platform we are building.

The industry may now be moving towards stronger regulation.

The Guardians Tribe is already building where the industry is heading.