Decide what you can offer at home
Before the duty list, look at your home honestly: what sleeping and rest space can you provide, how much privacy is realistic, and how meals and shared areas will work. A live-in arrangement only stays comfortable when the accommodation side is thought through, not improvised in the first week.
Write these down the same way you’d write duties. A clear picture of the living arrangement helps an agency match someone the situation suits, and it prevents misunderstandings once daily life begins.
- Name the sleeping and rest space on offer.
- Decide how meals and shared areas work.
- Set expectations for privacy on both sides.
Protect rest, or the arrangement won’t last
The most common strain in a live-in setup is that “living in” quietly becomes “always available.” Set realistic daily working hours and a proper rest day, and put them in writing. Rest isn’t a perk you grant when convenient — it’s what keeps the arrangement humane and sustainable over months, not just weeks.
Agree how time off works in practice: what a rest day looks like, how it’s scheduled, and what happens when plans change. Clear rest terms are as much a part of a fair role as the duties themselves.
Write the boundaries before day one
Sharing a home blurs edges quickly, so it helps to state what the role includes and what it doesn’t, and where the responsible adult stays in charge. Observable boundaries — what a task looks like when it’s done, when to check in — are easier to teach and fairer to review than a vague “help around the house.”
When you’re ready to discuss a live-in arrangement with an agency, bring your accommodation, rest and boundary notes alongside the duties. Send them over on WhatsApp to turn them into a clear brief.