Housesitting Berlin - Germany For Free!

House sitting in Berlin is a dream come true for many people - because why pay for a hotel or a hostel when you can stay for free? House sitting is generally seen as a free exchange: home owners not only have peace of mind for their property when they are away but they also don't have to pay someone to look after their animal(s). In return for looking after said property and animal(s) house sitters don't have to pay for rent or bills, hotel fees or hostel prices. But house sitting Berlin is so much more than free accommodation, it's a chance to get a real insight to how a real local lives - as opposed to a cut and paste tourist experience that you'll find in hotels and hostels. This is a step more than being on holiday, this is authentic living, at least for a weekend, week, or if you're lucky a few months. House sitting is also very often luxury accommodation, in my opinion. Sometimes it's just the simple luxuries of a nice kitchen and a clean washing machine that hotels and hostels don't offer, but more often than not it's extravagant luxuries like saunas, jacuzzis, swimming pools and access to fancy cars (hello, it's Germany).

The first time I house sat in Berlin, I got a lot more than I expected. Berlin is one of my favourite cities in the world and I would have been happy sleeping on someone's floor. But this is not couchsurfing, this is house sitting and the reality of my accommodation was one of the most luxurious and comfortable houses I've ever been in! But this isn't about me, it's about you and how you can start house sitting in Berlin, so without further ado let's start the guide:

How to find house sitting jobs in Berlin?

House sits in Berlin are easy to find and get if you know where to look, so where do you look? Five years ago I signed up to the house sitting job website Trustedhousesitters (THS). Since then I've successfully house sat across four continents, 20 countries and completed over 50 house sits. All through THS. I've renewed my membership every year, and every year the site has got better - more sits, even easier to use etc. I found my house sit in Berlin (and all of my house sits in Hamburg) on THS, thus that is why I recommend you sign up with THS too:

Step 1: Sign up to THS

Signing up is easy, you can use your email or your Facebook account, but why choose THS?

it's the biggest house sitting website out there - and bigger in this case means better, there are way more house sitting jobs here than on other sites
you'll have access to unlimited house sits - there is no cap on how many you can do, like me you can house sit 365 days a year - aka never pay rent or bills again
you can house sit anywhere in the world - not just Berlin (although they do have a lot of house sitting jobs in Berlin) - with THS you will find house sitting jobs all over the planet - the possibilities are endless
THS has a well-deserved trusted reputation - it's in the name. This means that you'll find lots of luxurious properties to house sit on there.

Membership costs just $119 a year, which when you compare to the price of a hotel in Berlin for just one night is amazing. When you compare it to what you normally pay for rent it's even more amazing. Yes, you've just discovered the secret to making travel cheaper than staying at home.

Step 2: Fill in your profile

This is where things start to get fun - fill in your profile, be honest and clear, but don't forget to sell yourself! Think about what you'd like to read if someone was applying to house sit for you and go from there. Include photos, references, and any relevant skills: experiences looking after people's houses/pets/children, jobs where you had responsibilities, German language skills etc.

Step 3: Apply to house sits

Start applying to house sits! There's a lot of competition out there so don't just stick to your dream house sit, apply to a few at once to increase your chances. But don't worry, you'll score a house sit in no time - and if you want an extra edge check out my post how to become a professional house sitter. Now that you know how to find house sitting jobs in Berlin, I will tell you about my own experiences to give you a taste of what it could be like:

2. What's it like to house sit in Berlin?

The Berlin Homeowners

The homeowners for our housesit in Berlin were a really generous lovely couple. We had a long (6 hour) journey to get to Berlin but one of the owners was there to welcome us at the end and give us a lift from the coach station. It was pretty late at night and very kind of her as it meant we didn't need to navigate the underground in our tired state. She went the extra mile and also gave us a little tour of Berlin in the car which would have been great under normal circumstances, but just happened to coincide with the Festival of Lights making the journey nothing short of epic! What a great start to housesitting Berlin!

Image Credit: Festival of Lights

She also provided us with everything we could possibly need and more - food, maps, Berlin's finest ice cream, bikes, the car and beer. We don't expect food when we housesit, but we accept it very gratefully. They were so generous!

The funniest thing ever happened haussiting Berlin, when we met her husband. He said "Hello" and Tanbay said "Hallo, schön dich zu treffen" (hello, nice to meet you) and the guy replied "ah du kannst ein bischen Deutsch" (oh you can speak a bit of German), and Tanbay answered "ja ich kann sehr viel Deutsch " (yes I can speak lots of German). This went on for a little bit because the German guy didn't realise that Tanbay is actually German too!!

The house we were sitting in Berlin

As I've said, the house turned out to be even better than we'd imagined. It's a hidden gem - right in the centre of Berlin, but so quiet, comfy and peaceful you'd think you were in the country:

This photo was taken outside the house, in central Berlin!! Crazy right? The house itself was built in the 1920s and was a complete Tardis (bigger on the inside). With a dream kitchen, hammock and piano, the best bit though was the cellar:

The Cellar - house sitting Germany

This particular German cellar was epic. Firstly there was a massive pantry filled with the most delicious organic food ever, which had actually been grown in the garden. Secondly was the sauna! We've been literally dying now that 'winter is coming'. We missed winter last year because we were in Australia, and whilst I'd been dreaming of a white Christmas, I forgot how crap it actually is - my bones hurt from the cold, I constantly feel like I'm getting a cold, I'm constantly cold... But sitting in a sauna was amazing and a very welcome rest bite.

The Chickens - housesitting Berlin

This time around, housesitting Berlin, we were responsible for chickens! We had learned on our first housesit in England that chickens are the best animal to petsit for because they are relatively easy and of course they reward you daily (EGGS... note: written before we were vegan, lol). Furthermore, unlike a dog, chickens can be left alone for hours and hours - as long as you let them out and feed them in the morning and then shut them in at night, you can be out all day without worrying (or all night). I'd even go as far as saying that they are the easiest animals to look after (other than fish). We were grateful for this freedom as there is so much to do in Berlin and we were in the perfect location to see it all.

Days out house sitting Berlin

Due to the central location of the house and the freedom with the chickens, we were able to have some great days out in Berlin. Most sites were accessible by foot, but we were also able to cycle around as the homeowners left us their bikes. I'd definitely recommend cycling around Berlin, but normally it will cost you about 10 Euros per day - so this is another way in which housesitting can save you money. [If you're looking for some inspo on what to do on your days out in Berlin I wrote a whole post Top FREE things to do in Berlin]

When we weren't exploring Berlin, we had the best time just hanging out in the house - I've almost finished my book (it's going to be about housesitting). We've also been listening to classical music, practising yoga, playing the piano and cooking - not just eggs! Though here is a picture of some eggs I made (please note the chicken mug - a lot of consideration went into that composition):

All in all, we completely loved this housesit, it was definitely one of our favourites so far. Should you try housesitting Berlin. Yes. Should you try house sitting Germany? Yes. Should you pet sit chickens? Definitely.

3. Wrap Up: House Sitting in Berlin

I wrote this post to give you a real taste of what house sitting is really like, if you're intrigued and would like to know more then we're more than happy to:

If those two blog posts don't help/ you have more questions send us an email or ask us on Facebook. And if you're already convinced and want to start house sitting Germany, head over to TrustedHousesitters - where we found this Berlin housesit (and all our other sits).

I want to end by highlighting how cheap this trip was because if saunas, chickens, luxurious houses and organic food don't convince you to housesit, the price should. Signing up to housesitting costs $107 per year which is just $8.91/month. So even if you just use it once or twice a year, it's worth it compared with the price of a hotel or a hostel. If you're interested in house sitting in the rest of Europe check this post out: where to house sit in Europe.

P.S.: Click here if you would like a 10% promo code for house sitting Germany - aka a 10% Trustedhousesitter discount code (the site we use). We also made a video about housesitting in general, hope you find it useful! :)

ABOUTME

We overland. We eat plants and fungi. We live outside as much as possible. We are all connected. A female travel blogger overlanding and writing about ecotourism, ethical and sustainable travel, socially conscious travel and housesitting. An online travel magazine since 2015.

Housesitting Berlin - Germany For Free!