A verbal handover with a friend usually goes something like: a quick walkthrough, "you'll be fine," and a wave goodbye. It works right up until something needs deciding while you're not there — a vet visit, a repair person at the door, a question about whether the cat's allowed on the bed. None of that is a pet-care question specifically. It's a "who's actually in charge of this decision" question, and it's the part that almost never makes it into a friendly handover.
The short answer
Beyond the standard pet-care handover, a friend house-sitting needs a small set of things in writing that a professional sitter would either already know to ask for or wouldn't need at all: what they're allowed to decide without you, who else might show up, and what happens if something breaks. None of it is about trust — it's about not leaving a favour-doer to guess at things you'd have happily told them.
Decision-making authority
This is the single biggest gap in friend handovers, because it feels unnecessary to spell out with someone you trust. But trust doesn't tell your friend what you'd actually want done — only you can do that, and only in advance.
- Emergency vet care and spending limit — covered in most pet handovers, but worth repeating here because it's the one friends are most likely to assume is "obviously fine" without being told an actual number
- Home repairs or issues — if something breaks while you're away, does your friend call a tradesperson themselves, wait for you, or is there someone else who handles it
- Deliveries, visitors, or anyone expected — a cleaner, a gardener, a family member with their own key — anyone your friend should expect to see and not be alarmed by
What's actually theirs to use
Friends doing a favour are often more hesitant than a paid sitter to use things in your home, which sounds considerate but can create its own problems.
- Whether they should treat the fridge, pantry, and general household items as available to them, or whether there's anything specifically off-limits
- Parking, if relevant — where they should and shouldn't put their car
- Wifi details and anything else that makes the stay easier, which owners often forget to mention because it's so automatic they don't think of it as information
What to tell them about the pet specifically
This is where the standard handover applies in full — routine, medical, quirks, emergency details — but it's worth saying explicitly to a friend that you want the same level of detail a professional sitter would get, not a lighter version. Friends often assume they need less information because they know you, when what they actually need is the same information delivered less formally.
Make it easy to over-communicate
The single biggest difference between a friend handover and a professional one isn't the information — it's that a friend is far less likely to text you something that feels "silly" to ask. Say explicitly: no question is too small, and you'd rather get five unnecessary texts than none. Most people worry more about being a bother than about missing something, so this permission genuinely changes how much they'll tell you.
Why this matters more with someone you trust, not less
It's tempting to think a close friend needs less structure than a stranger, since they already know you and your pet. In practice, the opposite tends to be true — handovers with people you know well are often the least documented of any care arrangement, precisely because the informality that makes them comfortable also makes it easy to skip the parts that would normally get written down. The friendship isn't the risk. The assumption that friendship makes the paperwork unnecessary is.
Why Quirks & All handles this well for friends specifically
A friend doing you a favour shouldn't need to sit through a formal onboarding to get the information they need. Quirks & All gives them the same complete profile a professional sitter would use — one link, no account required to view it — so a favour gets the same quality of information as a paid booking, just without any of the friction.