THE DOWNSIDE of going on holiday is the time spent giving keys and instructions to your small army of trusted volunteers who take in the post, put on lights, water the plants and feed the dog. In this country we tend to rely on friends, family and neighbours to help look after our homes in our absence but one alternative is a dedicated house-sitter who will treat your home like their own while you’re away – within reason.

You can find a house-sitter through one of a number of Irish agencies, some of whom charge between €100-€350 a week depending on the services required and the length of the contract.

The internet is another, cheaper, way of finding a sitter. There’s a multitude of web sites – lonelyplanet.com, mindmyhouse.com, gumtree.ie and housesitworld.com – with ads posted by people only too willing to look after your goods and chattels for the duration. Generally prospective house-sitters pay a fee to advertise on these websites, which can range from around €15-€50, while home owners can search the database for free.

The Dublin house-sitters pages of housecarers.com make fascinating reading. They are crammed with ads from people willing to look after your house while you’re away.

Among the folk offering their services is an English novelist who’s “house proud and loves animals”, an unemployed couple with a baby who need a bigger house, a multi-lingual “scholar/film maker” who likes to travel and is good with pets and plants, and a 23-year-old student who’s living with his parents and is looking to escape for the summer.

There are also plenty of house sitting couples – some retired – with DIY and caretaking experience. Quite a few live abroad and are looking to visit Ireland . Unsurprisingly, most say they are reliable and hard working and some have references to offer.

If enlisting an aspiring novelist to mind your property is a step too far into the unknown, there are a number of agencies that vet prospective sitters. A few in Ireland will dispatch one of their seasoned house sitters to your home – at a price.

Teresa Accardi from Virtual PA Solutions won’t discuss her fee structure but says the people who hire house-sitters through her company tend to have bigger houses: “not your average semi-d”.

Her sitters are generally asked to take in mail, take flyers out of the post box, water plants and organise repairs. They’ll also feed pets, “although many people prefer to leave them in a pet facility,” says Accardi.

She refers to the sitters on her books as “a select few” aged over 22 and some are mature students. All are free of family responsibility and available at the drop of a hat.

The sitter isn’t required to be in situ at all times. “It’s better security-wise that a house looks lived in and people are seen coming and going.”

Her sitters are paid, but she won’t disclose how much and whether it’s a nominal amount. One of the rules is they can’t use your property as a party pad,

“We frown on friends,” says Accardi, “if the house sitter is only there for two weeks they can’t really bring them in. If it’s three months then maybe yes but it has to be discussed with the owner.”

She says the average contract is around one to three months. Some of her clients have homes abroad and are trying sell their property here so have longer contracts. The advantage of an agency is the back-up they provide if emergencies arise “and the house sitter gets sick or has to leave because a family member is ill or goes out to do shopping and the car breaks down”.

She says the house sitting service isn’t in as much demand as during the boom years. “People just aren’t going on holiday as much”.

Ross Hennessy runs a different kind of house-minding service. His company Entire Home Services checks on vacant properties in the south Dublin area and reports back to the owners. He says his service works best for people who don’t like the idea of a stranger having the run of the place while they’re away.

“We might keep the garden in shape, change the timer on lights, keep an eye on anything they’re worried about like a pipe bursting and if it’s a short term we will feed pets,” says Hennessy.

He charges €100 per month for one visit per week. Extra visits cost around €25 each.

Camelot Property Management install what they call “guardians” in properties who pay rent at around 40 per cent of the market rate and some of the bills. Their house-sitters are all employed with no children or pets.

While the concept of house-sitting is still in its infancy here compared to in the UK, Australia, US and Canada, it could potentially be big business in the future. As Irish people become increasingly disconnected from their communities, an anonymous house-sitter might be the only recourse.

Virtual PA Solutions at virtualpasolutions.ie

Entire Home Services at entirehomeservices.com

Camelot Property Management at cameloteurope.com