For the past two years, Rebekah Condon and Jim Fuller have been living in strangers' homes.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
They've done so here in Canberra, across Australia, and have even stayed in houses in Canada and America.
They don't pay rent or bills - and what they're doing is perfectly legal.
The pair, who are originally from NSW but now call Canberra home, are house and pet sitters, and members of the group Trusted Housesitters.
"We've always loved travelling together, and when we were 22 we took one year off university and travelled Europe for a little over six months," Mr Fuller said.
"Back then, we didn’t know about house-sitting, so we stayed mostly in hostels. In 2017, we decided to head to Canada for one year, to spend time camping, hiking and snowboarding, and house-sitting enabled that to happen."
Their first international house sitting experience was in Canada, where they used it as a way to add direction to their trip and allow them to travel for 12 months, Ms Condon said.
They did back to back house-sitting stints, and when nothing came up they used Airbnb.
"We house-sat in large and small cities in Canada, namely Toronto, Ottawa, Bayfield, Vancouver and Vernon, and they ranged from two weeks to two months," she said.
"It gave us the opportunity to see many parts of Canada that we would not have had the money to visit or that we would not have known about otherwise."
They also looked after a range of pets, including chickens, sheep, a donkey, goats, cats and dogs.
When they returned to Canberra, they noticed a high demand for house-sitting, and have since looked after houses and pets in Forde, Lyneham, Narrabundah and Hackett.
"Jim and I work variable hours, so when we take on a new house-sit we work out a schedule where we can provide the best care for the pet and home we are in that meets the needs of everyone," Ms Condon said.
"For example, if we’re looking after a dog, I might take him or her for a walk in the afternoon as I’m home earlier and Jim will do the morning walk and feed."
Ms Condon, a teacher, and Mr Fuller, a physiotherapist, became engaged in September 2017 while house-sitting.
Their living situation has allowed them to save for their first apartment, an off-the-plan unit expected to be finished in November 2019.
Trusted Housesitters chief executive Tim Lyons said the organisation, which has been operating in Australia since 2010, was a house-sitting platform that connected animal-loving travellers with pet owners looking for someone who could look after their pet while they were away.
Mr Lyons said owning a pet had stopped 55 per cent of Canberrans from travelling overseas, and 66 per cent felt guilty for leaving their pet to go travel - leading to a total of 402 pets being taken care of by pet sitters in Canberra in 2018.
"It’s a mutual relationship where travellers can stay in beautiful homes for a small annual fee and where pet owners can enjoy a stress-free holiday knowing their pet is cared for in their own home," he said.
"It's also a great way to save money on travels, but more importantly it’s all about pet wellbeing and community."
House-sitting stays can range from a couple of days up to several months. Both house sitters and pet owners pay $129 a year in membership.
Mr Lyons said 55 per cent of Canberrans reported that worrying about their pet affected their holiday experience, and 22 per cent had cut a holiday short to come home.
Ms Condon and Mr Fuller are currently house-sitting and looking after a cat. They are booked out until the end of February 2019.
"We’re pretty much living out of a suitcase ... it's more tiring than annoying," she said.
"But it’s always kind of exciting knowing that you’re going to go into a new suburb and you can check out new cafes and get to know a new little pet."
