Is Petym's sitter agreement in force?

No. This page is a draft structure for owner and lawyer review, not in force. It lists the headings and questions the agreement must answer and states no rate, fee, deadline or penalty. No sitter has signed anything, and the final agreement will be published before bookings open.

Which parts of the sitter agreement are already decided?

Petym's process: the sitter checks, the free meet and greet before the first booking, the pet's plan followed and logged, a daily photo update, the emergency steps, and payment through Petym with the sitter paid after the booking. Everything else in the agreement is still a question.

Why does consumer law matter to a sitter agreement?

Because Petym will be an online marketplace for a service. The E-Commerce Rules, 2020 require a marketplace to get an undertaking from sellers that their descriptions are accurate, and to display seller details to consumers, so the agreement must cover both.

Legal 6 min read

Sitter agreement: draft structure

Updated October 2026By PetymFacts checked against official sources on 21 October 2026

Quick answer

This is a draft for owner and lawyer review, not in force. It sets out the headings of the agreement between Petym and its pet sitters, and the questions each clause must answer: checks, duties of care, payment, conduct, emergencies, data and disputes. It states no rate, fee, deadline or penalty, because none has been decided.

No sitter has signed anything yet. The final agreement will be published before bookings open.

Which laws frame the agreement?

Petym will be an online marketplace through which sitters offer a service to consumers, so consumer protection law shapes what Petym must require of sitters, and data protection law shapes how both handle personal data.

Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, e-commerce includes buying or selling services over a digital network, and an electronic service provider includes an online marketplace. A fault or shortcoming in the manner of a service promised under a contract is a deficiency, which a consumer can complain about.

The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 require a marketplace to obtain an undertaking from each seller that the descriptions, images and other content about their service are accurate and correspond to its nature and quality. They also require the marketplace to display details about each seller, including their business name, geographic address, customer care number and any rating, to help consumers decide before buying. For an individual sitter working from home, how that duty is met without exposing a home address is a question for the lawyer.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 governs the personal data the agreement involves: the sitter's PAN and bank details held by Petym, and the owner's address, keys, routines and pet health records the sitter sees. Petym's privacy policy notes the Act's main duties begin under the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025.

Rules that bear on the sitter agreement
What	The rule	Source
E-Commerce Rules, rule 5(2)	Sellers give an undertaking that service descriptions and images are accurate	Department of Consumer Affairs (Gazette of India copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)
E-Commerce Rules, rule 5(3)(a)	Seller details, including address and any rating, displayed to consumers before purchase	Department of Consumer Affairs (Gazette of India copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)
Consumer Protection Act, section 2(11)	Deficiency: a fault or shortcoming in a service promised under a contract	Department of Consumer Affairs (Gazette of India, Ministry of Law and Justice)
Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023	Personal data processed only for a lawful purpose, with consent or for certain legitimate uses, and consent requests preceded by a notice of the data and its purpose	Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

What headings will the agreement have, and what must each answer?

Where Petym's process is already decided, the clause must reflect it. Everything else is a question to be decided.

1. The parties and the relationship: Is the sitter an independent service provider, not an employee? What does that mean for hours, tools, tax and the right to sit through other channels?
2. Checks before listing: Must reflect the decided checks: PAN identity, a named 24-hour vet, pet first-aid training before the first booking, and for sitters a video walk-through, society permission and a pet limit. What happens if a check lapses, such as society permission being withdrawn mid-year?
3. The sitter's profile: How is the rule 5(2) undertaking on accurate descriptions given? Which details are displayed, and how is a home address protected?
4. Duties of care during a booking: Must reflect the decided steps: the free meet and greet before the first booking, the pet's plan followed as the owner writes it and logged, and a daily photo update every day. What standard of care is expected beyond that?
5. Medicines: How is it written that a sitter never changes a dose, and gives injections only if a vet has shown them how?
6. Emergencies: Must reflect the decided steps: call the owner, take the pet to the nearest 24-hour vet on Petym's list, with the care sheet. Who pays the clinic at the time, and how is it settled? Petym has announced no cover.
7. Conduct in the owner's home: Guests, privacy, rooms off limits, photos, keys and their return. What counts as a breach?
8. Payment: Must reflect the decided rules: the owner pays Petym the rate card price, with no separate booking fee, and the sitter is paid after the booking. What is the sitter's share, the payout timing and method, and how are deductions shown?
9. Off-platform payment: May a sitter accept payment from an owner outside Petym? If not, what follows?
10. Cancellations and no-shows: How much notice must a sitter give? What happens after a no-show? How does this match the cancellation policy?
11. Incidents and liability: Injury to a pet, a bite to the sitter, damage to the home, a lost key: who is responsible, and how is each reported?
12. Reviews: Reviews come only from owners after a real booking. Can a sitter respond? When may Petym remove a review?
13. Personal data: What does each side keep, for what purpose and for how long? How are owners' details deleted after a booking?
14. Suspension and ending the agreement: On what grounds, with what notice, and with what right to be heard?
15. Disputes: Which law and courts apply? How does a sitter raise a grievance, and how does it link to the grievance officer consumers use?

What must be decided before this draft can become an agreement?

The owner's decisions, in the order the lawyer will need them.

The sitter's legal status, and its tax consequences.
The sitter's share of the rate card price, and the payout schedule.
Who pays an emergency vet at the time, and how it is settled.
Which seller details are displayed, consistent with rule 5(3)(a). Department of Consumer Affairs (Gazette of India copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)
The no-show and suspension process.
The data each side keeps and for how long. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Questions owners ask

Is Petym's sitter agreement in force?: No. This page is a draft structure for owner and lawyer review, not in force. It lists the headings and questions the agreement must answer and states no rate, fee, deadline or penalty. No sitter has signed anything, and the final agreement will be published before bookings open.
Which parts of the sitter agreement are already decided?: Petym's process: the sitter checks, the free meet and greet before the first booking, the pet's plan followed and logged, a daily photo update, the emergency steps, and payment through Petym with the sitter paid after the booking. Everything else in the agreement is still a question.
Why does consumer law matter to a sitter agreement?: Because Petym will be an online marketplace for a service. The E-Commerce Rules, 2020 require a marketplace to get an undertaking from sellers that their descriptions are accurate, and to display seller details to consumers, so the agreement must cover both.

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Sources

Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources