They have 13 testimonials (view below)
Cat(s), Chicken(s), Fish
They don't have a police check
From: From 1 Jan 2027
(see their full availability below)
Semi retired Landscape Gardener
They have referees/references (view below)
We are a husband and wife team who love travelling throughout the UK and Europe. Email us, and if all goes well we will be on our way to your place to look after your property as if it were our own. We both love travelling and would like to spend more time exploring Europe and the UK. We are happy to look after cats and chickens but unfortunately not dogs.
We have been working hard all our lives (it seems!) Richard Landscaping and Steph working for a charity (CRB checked). House sitting offers us all the comforts of home but with a whole different view out of the window!
As we are both semi retired, we are keen to expand our portfolio of house sitting. We have carried out numerous house sits in France, Spain, Italy, Malta and the UK. We are homeowners ourselves so we feel that we understand what your concerns as home owners are likely to be. We can provide references upon request.
We are a semi-retired couple with over 40 years’ experience running a successful landscape gardening business. We bring extensive practical knowledge in garden maintenance.
We have been house sitting for more than twelve years and have completed assignments ranging from one week to eight weeks. During this time, we have cared for pets, maintained gardens, and carried out re-pointing work on stone properties. We have also acted as guardians for a ski chalet and farmhouse, which included guest changeovers and ensuring visitors enjoyed a comfortable and well-prepared stay.
While house sitting, your home, garden, and pets will always be our top priority. We are happy to carry out general garden maintenance if required and take great pride in looking after properties as if they were our own.
We are clean, tidy, reliable, and non-smokers. We live in a small rural village in Leicestershire and are very comfortable with a quiet lifestyle, limited local amenities, and rural living. We are experienced in using wood-burning stoves and open fires.
We offer the wisdom, care, and reliability that comes with age and experience, and we are both good communicators who value trust and clear expectations.
Countries: Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Family status:
Couple
Languages spoken:
English
They don't charge for house sitting services
From From 1 Jan 2027
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Testimonials
We would have them back any time.
Richard and Steph were all that you could ask cat-sitter to be. They kept in touch with regular updates about our cat and some adverse weather in that occurred while we were away. They informed us of mail that arrived and left the apartment clean and decorated with a lovely bouquet of flowers. They met some of our friends in a meet-up group,all of whom hope they come back to sit for us again. Great sitters, lovely folks. I hope we can get them to sit for us again.
Ami, Spain, February 2026
Awesome house and pet sitters
They are wonderful petsitters. They looked after our cats wonderfully and helped to socialize a foster kitten. They also fed our feral colony twice a day. The apartment was clean and tidy. Our plants were better than when we left!!> They even baked a quiche so that we had food when we returned. We really enjoyed their company and would definitely love to have them petsit for us again - and would highly recommend them! It was a wonderful experience
James, Spain, May 2025
Excellent sitters
Richard and Stephanie were conscientious house sitters. Our cats were very happy around them and clearly received the affection they felt they deserved. We were kept informed on their well being, which is always nice. The house was kept beautifully clean and tidy. I would happily have them sit again.
SJ, France, April 2025
Amazing!
We can't recommend Richard and Steph enough as they looked after our hens, cats and property carefully and competently. This was our first time using mindmyhouse and we count ourselves extremely lucky to have found this lovely couple as they helped guide us through the ropes and made us feel completely confident about leaving everything in their hands. Whilst we were away they stayed in touch and handled every little incident with ease - they even coped with a couple of major storms in one of Scotland's windiest corners! Nothing seems to much for them and we returned home to a nice tidy place with lovely little extra gifts; handmade by Steph and hand chopped and neatly stacked by Richard. I think the biggest recommendation I can make is that they are both so likeable and have a real lust for life, travel, people and new experiences. I look forward to seeing them both again.
Sarah, United Kingdom, December 2024
Perfect housesitters
Richard and Steph were absolutely brilliant house and cat sitters. This was our first experience of using a house sitting service and we couldn't have been luckier having Richard and Steph. The garden and house were immaculate when we returned home with the added benefit of a meal and the fire lit. Nero the cat was very happy with the cuddles and standard of care! We couldn't recommend Richard and Steph enough, they were also sweet, caring, kind and generous, they will be a hard act to follow if they aren't available next time we want to use them.
Clare, Italy, November 2023
Peace of mind
Steph and Richard are experienced and sought-after housesitters and i was very lucky to have them spend a month at my house this summer. I enjoyed getting to know them during the day we spent together before my departure; they were relaxed but also made sure to ask the necessary questions. I returned to a spic and span house, a garden in better shape than I had left it and a cat in fine form. I can't recommend them highly enough!
Martine, France, August 2023
Fantastic, flexible and very pleasant
Richard and Steph were very accommodating, especially when we were considering changing our plans by a few days. They are clearly very experienced house-sitters. They communicated well, before, during and after the sit. We had no concerns at all about leaving them in charge of our home and cats. We came home to find everything as it should be. Trouble cat clearly liked them as she brought them a couple of live mice as presents and they handled it without any fuss. We hope that they might like to return.
Heather, United Kingdom, August 2022
Our New Good Friends
Richard and Steph looked after our large home in Malta while we trotted off on holidays for a fortnight. They were the perfect house-sitters. They stayed in contact, handled everything just as we would have done ourselves, and we returned home to a warm welcome and a clean home. They are lovely people and we recommend them highly to anyone needing someone they can really trust.
Phil & Chris, Malta, May 2019
John Maplesden
Steph and Richard did a superb job of looking after our house in southern Spain in August and September of 2018. We have over 100 plants on our roof garden and they all made it through the summer in good order - all kept well trimmed and weeded. And the house was left very clean, just as we left it. We would be most pleased to have them house sit for us again if they are available.
John, Spain, October 2018
Friendly and reliable
We found Stephanie and Richard a very friendly and easy going couple and completely reliable and trustworthy. They came at short notice and we only had a few hours to show them everything before we left them to it all but they looked after our cat, three chickens and fish perfectly, even looking after my friends cat too, and taking our friends to the bus station as there was a rail strike in France at the time so they really put themselves out for us which we appreciated. They sent us regular updates on everything which was very reassuring. The house was left in a lovely clean condition when they left so we would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending them and would love them to come back here in the future when we need them.
shealagh, France, October 2017
Bry and Val Lynas
Richard and Stephanie were excellent house sitters and we would not hesitate to ask them again. They were totally reliable and conscientious in caring for our small farm and 3 ducks.They kept us up to date with events and coped competently with problems in our holiday cottage. They left our grounds well maintained and the house clean, and we can thoroughly recommend them.
Val, United Kingdom, September 2016
Highly recommended
Richard and Stephanie have minded our house, cats and chickens in France twice now. They are a friendly, reliable and unflappable couple and we don't hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking for sitters.
Sue, France, September 2016
Just brilliant!
Steph and Richard came to our house-sit at very short notice, and quickly understood all that was asked of them. They did even more! Their combined cleaning standards, Steph's baking and Richard's DiY all came in extremely useful during their 7-week stay and we would be delighted to work with them again should the need arise. Whilst it was winter in the Alps, and hence no gardening, they cleared the snow and kept the log supply coming. We would definitely recommend them if you need a practical, entirely trustworthy and very likable couple to mind your house - you won't be disappointed!
suzanne, France, September 2016