Terms for pet sitters

1. Independence

The sitter is an independent professional. There is no exclusivity, schedule, imposed area, minimum number of services or obligation to accept requests. The sitter decides when they are available, which services they offer and at what price, and may work with other platforms and their own clients. They use their own means and organise the service as they see fit, respecting the animal's welfare and what was agreed with the owner.

2. Requirements for approval

Being 18 or older; a complete profile with tax number and address; services and prices; availability; identity and bank account verification through Stripe; 2 confirmed references; completion of the course and quiz. Approval is automatic once every step is complete. A negative reference sends the application to a person, whose decision is communicated with reasons.

3. Prices

The sitter sets their prices freely, with no minimum or maximum imposed by Pertu. They may switch on "smart pricing", which adjusts their price within the floor and ceiling they define: up to +50% in periods of higher demand, +20% for requests starting in under 24 hours and −10% for weekly recurring bookings. It can be switched off at any time.

4. Commission and payout

Pertu keeps 12% of the sitter's price, or 6% when the same owner books the same sitter again. The net amount is transferred by Stripe to the sitter's bank account 48 hours after the service is completed. If the owner opens a dispute within that period, the payout is held until a person decides.

If the owner cancels outside the free period, the sitter receives 50% of their price, less the commission.

5. Requests and ordering

Each request is offered to one sitter at a time, who has 30 minutes to accept or decline. Declining or letting it expire has no consequence. The order in which sitters are contacted follows only the criteria published on the page "How we order sitters and how prices are formed". Acceptance rate, response time, location during the service and visit reports are not used.

Cancelling a booking after confirming it lowers the reliability indicator, one of the published criteria, calculated over the last 180 days. That effect is limited to the position in the ordering.

6. Tax and insurance

The sitter is responsible for registering their activity, issuing receipts to the owner for their price and meeting their tax and social security obligations. Pertu invoices its commission and reports yearly to the tax authority the income earned through the platform, under Law 36/2023 (DAC7). Professional liability insurance is recommended.

7. Restriction, suspension and termination

No sitter account is suspended, restricted or deactivated by an automated system. The decision is always taken by a person, communicated in writing with the specific reasons and 30 days in advance, except where the law requires immediate action. The sitter may contest by email and the objection is reviewed by a person. The sitter may close their account at any time.

8. Complaints and mediation

Sitters' complaints are received at suporte@pertu.pt, handled by a person and answered within 15 days, free of charge. If the complaint is not resolved, the parties may use mediation; the available mediators are named on request.

9. Data and differentiated treatment

The sitter has access, in their area, to the data on their bookings, reviews and earnings. Pertu does not offer services of its own that compete with sitters and gives no sitter differentiated treatment.

10. Changes

Changes to these terms are notified at least 15 days in advance. The sitter may close their account before they take effect.