What is key handover?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
A key handover is the agreed way a pet sitter gets into your home: a key handed over, one left with a trusted neighbour or the society office, or a digital lock code. In a flat it also means telling the watchman the sitter is expected. Done well, it is planned, written down and reversed when the booking ends.
Also called handing over house keys, key exchange, spare key for pet sitter, home access for sitter.
Key facts
- The RSPCA advises meeting a sitter before employing them, checking references and arranging care well in advance. RSPCA
- Delhi Police lists Domestic Help/Tenant Registration as one of its citizen services, separate from its police clearance certificate. Delhi Police
- England's licensed home boarders must name a key holder who can reach the premises within 30 minutes in normal conditions. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- RSPCA Australia says a cat left at home should be kept contained to the property and checked daily while you are away. RSPCA Australia
What are the ways to give a pet sitter access?
Each has trade-offs. Choose one, write it down, and tell everyone who needs to know.
Most common
Hand over a key in person
Give the sitter a spare key at the meet and greet or the day before, and collect it when you return. Keep a note of how many copies exist.
Backup
A trusted neighbour or relative
A second key with someone nearby covers a lost key or a sitter who is locked out, so your pet is never stuck inside without care.
Society
The society office or security
Some housing societies hold keys at the office or gate. Check their rules and who can sign a key out.
Digital
A smart lock code
A code you create for the booking and delete afterwards, so no physical key changes hands. Keep a key with a neighbour in case the battery or power fails.
What should you sort out before handing over keys?
Most lockouts and mix-ups at the gate come from small things nobody mentioned.
- Meet the sitter first and agree the access plan face to face. RSPCA
- Tell the society office and the watchman the sitter's name and dates, and whether they need a gate pass or app entry.
- Show the sitter every lock: main door, grille, balcony, and any room your pet must not enter.
- Tell the maid, cook or driver who else will be coming in, so nobody leaves a door or grille open for the cat to slip out. RSPCA Australia
- Leave a backup key with a neighbour or relative, with their number on the care sheet. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Agree when and how the key comes back, or when the code is deleted.
What about police verification for someone with your keys?
In India, some city police forces let residents register domestic help or tenants as a citizen service. Delhi Police, for example, lists Domestic Help/Tenant Registration among its services, alongside a separate police clearance certificate and character verification report. Rules and portals differ by state, so check your city police's website.
Registration with the police is something you arrange; it is not the same as a platform's own checks. Petym verifies each sitter's identity with PAN before listing; police verification is not part of Petym's stated checks. If it matters to you, ask the sitter at the meet and greet.
How does this work with a Petym sitter?
Agree the key arrangement with your sitter at the free meet and greet before the first booking, and note it on the care sheet so it is clear to both of you. During the booking the sitter keeps your home secure and follows your pet's plan, with a daily photo update every day.
If anything goes wrong with access during a booking, the sitter calls you first. Petym is pre-launch and not taking bookings yet.
Going away soon? Tell us your dates.
A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.
- Meet your sitter first, free
- PAN-checked, first-aid trained
- A photo every day
- Pay through Petym, never cash
Questions owners ask
Is it safe to give a pet sitter my house keys?
- It can be, with care. Meet the sitter first, check references, agree the access plan in writing and keep track of key copies. Leave a backup key with a neighbour. In India you can also ask your city police about registering people who have regular access to your home.
Should I tell my housing society about a pet sitter?
- Yes. Tell the society office and the watchman the sitter's name and dates, and ask whether they need a gate pass or app entry. It avoids the sitter being stopped at the gate when your pet is waiting for a meal or a walk.
What if the sitter loses my key?
- This is why a backup key with a trusted neighbour or relative matters: your pet still gets its care while you sort out the lock. Agree in advance who the sitter calls, and write that person's number on the care sheet.
Do Petym sitters have police verification?
- Petym's stated checks verify each sitter's identity with PAN; police verification is not part of them. Some city police forces, such as Delhi Police, run domestic help and tenant registration services that you can use yourself. You can also ask the sitter at the free meet and greet.
Keep reading
Related terms
More in services and booking
- Background checkA background check is what a pet care service verifies about a sitter before they care for your pet and enter your home. It can cover identity, police verification, references, training and the sitter's home. Services differ widely, so ask what was checked. Petym verifies identity with PAN; police verification is not one of its stated checks.
- Care sheetA care sheet is the written plan you leave for whoever looks after your pet: what and when it eats, walks and toilet routine, medicines and how to give them, habits and fears, and who to call, including your vet. Welfare bodies list these as the essentials. On Petym, the sitter follows your plan as written and logs each task.
- Daily photo updateA daily photo update is a photo of your pet, with a short note, that the sitter sends each day of a booking, so you can see your pet is fed, well and settled. The best updates are specific: food, walks, toilet, medicines and mood. On Petym, a daily photo update is sent every day of every booking.
- Doggy day careDoggy day care is daytime care for your dog while you work: you drop it off in the morning and collect it in the evening, with no overnight stay. The dog gets company, play, walks and rest instead of a long day alone. Good day care screens each dog first and keeps groups small.
- Drop-in visitA drop-in visit is when a pet sitter comes to your home, once or more a day, to feed your pet, refresh water, clean the litter tray or take the dog out, give medicines and spend time with it, then leaves. It suits cats and independent pets that are happier at home. On Petym, drop-in visits are paid per visit.
- Group dog walkA group dog walk is when one walker takes several dogs from different homes out together, instead of a solo walk with one dog. It can give sociable dogs company and exercise, but more dogs means less control near traffic and street dogs. As a benchmark, England's licensing guidance caps a day care walker at 6 dogs at once.
- Home boardingHome boarding means your pet stays in a sitter's own home while you are away, living as part of the household rather than in a kennel run. It suits sociable dogs that settle well in new places. Good sitters take few pets, meet each one first and keep its records. On Petym, every sitter's home is checked by video first.
- House sittingHouse sitting means someone lives in your home while you are away, looking after the house and often the pets. The arrangement is built around the home: security, plants, post. Pet sitting is built around the animal: its meals, walks, medicines and company. Many pet owners want both, which is what an overnight pet sitter staying in your home provides.
- Meet and greetA meet and greet is a short visit before any booking where the owner, the pet and the sitter meet. You see how the sitter handles your pet and ask questions; your pet learns the sitter's face and smell. Welfare bodies advise meeting a sitter before hiring. On Petym, the meet and greet is free, before the first booking.
- Overnight pet sittingOvernight pet sitting means a sitter stays in your home, including overnight, while you are away, so your pet keeps its own home, routine and company. It suits dogs that cannot be left alone, senior pets, pets on medicine and anxious animals. It is Petym's main service: the sitter follows your pet's plan and is paid by the day.
Keep exploring
Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- RSPCA: Exploring pet sitting options (opens in a new tab)
- Delhi Police: Citizen services: domestic help and tenant registration, police clearance certificate, character verification report (opens in a new tab)
- Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK): Home boarding for dogs licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities (updated 1 June 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- RSPCA Australia: Can I take my cat with me when I go on holiday? (opens in a new tab)