Caretaker couples for leisure, working and mixed-use estates: hunting, livestock, farming
A couple who live on the estate, know it and look after it all year round
We select caretaker couples for rural estates throughout Spain and for properties in other European countries.
Placement agency licensed by the SNE, no. 1300000318
First vetted couples in under 3 hours, references checked
One-off fee only when you hire · 6-month guarantee
WHAT A CARETAKER COUPLE IS
A trusted couple who live on the estate and look after it
A caretaker couple is a couple who live on the estate and jointly look after the main residence, the grounds and, where relevant, the animals and the tasks that come with country life.
They are used to living in the countryside, often far from towns, and able to notice that a fence is damaged, an irrigation pump is failing or an animal has a problem, and to know what to do or whom to call without needing constant instructions.
The workload varies over the year. When the family is in residence or receiving guests, service can be very intense; the rest of the time, the work centres on maintenance, supervision, the animals, the grounds and a permanent presence on the property.
A leisure estate does not need the same caretakers as a livestock, farming or hunting business, and many estates combine several uses. We look at the estate's activity, the house and the people who live in it, the animals, the machinery, how often there are guests and the staff the couple will work with.
Big-game and small-game hunting estate
On a hunting estate, the season of driven hunts and partridge drives brings guests, field staff, hound packs and suppliers all at once. The couple prepare the house, cook and look after the guests; outdoors they keep up tracks, cleared rides, feeders, troughs, fencing, kennels and vehicles, alongside the licensed gamekeeper if there is one.
Knowing the estate's game, such as red deer and wild boar, and its water points is valued.
Driven hunts and partridge drives
Main house and guests
Working with the licensed gamekeeper
Livestock estate
On dehesas (Iberian oak wood-pasture) with cattle, sheep, horses or fighting bulls, caretakers live alongside the animals every day. Experience with fencing, feeders, water troughs, cattle races and stables is valued, as is spotting problems. Where there is a head herdsman, stockmen or a vet, the couple work with them without taking on the technical management of the livestock.
Tientas and branding days
Fencing, feeders and water
Working with the head herdsman
Farming estate: olives, vines, irrigation
On an estate with olive groves, vineyards, cereals or irrigated crops, the farming is usually in the hands of managers, farm workers or outside contractors. The caretakers look after the residence, the gardens, the access points and supervision, and may help at specific points in the season, within the duties of their post.
Tractor and trailer
Irrigation and water pumps
Help in the farming season
Country house, with or without horses
Many estates are above all the family's country house, with a kitchen garden, stables or dogs. Before each arrival the caretakers prepare the house, check the systems, organise shopping and suppliers and leave the grounds in good order; during the stay they look after the family and its guests. Where there are horses, real stable experience is valued.
Stables and horses
Preparing each arrival
Garden and pool
HOW THE COUPLE SPLIT THE WORK
How caretakers divide the work on an estate
The split depends on the estate, on whether it has a farming, livestock or hunting business and on the staff already working there. Usually one caretaker focuses on service in the house and looking after the family, and the other on the grounds, maintenance, the animals and the needs of the estate.
At the busiest times, both work closely together to look after the property.
House, kitchen and looking after the family
This covers cleaning and organising the main residence, laundry and ironing, preparing bedrooms, family cooking, managing the larder, table service and looking after the family and its guests, on short and long stays alike.
Land, grounds and tracks
This covers the upkeep of gardens, courtyards, tracks, access points, fencing and other outdoor areas. Depending on the property, it also includes clearing scrub, firewood, irrigation, firebreaks, small repairs and regular checks of the land and facilities.
Animals and stables
This covers feeding and basic supervision of livestock, horses, dogs, hens or farmyard animals, mucking out stables and knowing each animal's routines. Problems are passed on to the head herdsman, the vet, the farrier or the manager. Previous experience can be decisive.
Maintenance and systems
The couple oversee water and irrigation, pumps, heating, air conditioning, basic electrics, doors and gates. They spot problems quickly, handle small repairs within their competence and coordinate technicians or suppliers when a specialist is needed.
Presence and control of the estate
While the family is away, the couple make rounds, control access, receive suppliers and tradespeople, hold the keys and report incidents. On estates with a business, they work with farm managers, head herdsmen or vets, without taking on their technical duties.
THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Estate caretakers: the three legal rules
In Spain the word “guardeses” is used for different roles, which leads to badly drafted contracts. This is the framework the law sets out, verified against the BOE.
1
Caretakers: not rural guards or gamekeepers
The rural guard (guarda rural, also the gamekeeper and marine fisheries guard) is private security: Interior Ministry authorisation issued by the Guardia Civil's Directorate-General, a professional card (Act 5/2014 arts. 26-27), training (arts. 28-29), uniform and badge (art. 39.2). It protects rural estates and, the gamekeeper, hunting preserves and compliance with hunting law (art. 34).
Caretakers, household employees, deter by their presence, control access and hold the keys without a licence (art. 6.2), but do not perform duties reserved to private security or carry weapons in that role (art. 6.3). The owner hires a gamekeeper directly, without a security company (art. 38.6).
Two professions, hired separately; Maids & Co does not recruit licensed gamekeepers.
2
Household or ordinary employment
Looking after the family's house, garden, pool, access points, car and animals is household employment: it covers caretaking, gardening and driving (RD 1620/2011 art. 1.4) and contributes under the Special System for Household Employees (Social Security Act art. 250).
Working with any regularity for the business (livestock, crops, production machinery) makes the law presume that the whole relationship is ordinary employment, except for marginal or occasional tasks (RD 1620/2011 art. 2.3). It contributes under the General Scheme or, for farm work, the Special Agricultural System (art. 252); the collective agreement depends on the activity.
Each partner's duties are set out in writing: if one works for the business, their whole relationship is ordinary employment; the other's may remain household employment.
3
The estate cottage: separate or in kind
The pay range is in cash and excludes the accommodation. If the cottage is valued in kind (up to 30%, RD 1620/2011 art. 8.2), that value attracts contributions and cannot take either partner's cash pay below the SMI (€1,424.50 over 12 payments in 2026).
Electricity, water and heating oil are set out in writing, included or separate, and use of the cottage ends with the contract. It is not a tenancy, however many years the couple have lived there: the law excludes housing provided to caretakers and employees because of their job (Urban Tenancies Act 29/1994, art. 5.a).
Legal floor for the couple in 2026: €2,849 a month in cash, plus the accommodation and both employer contributions.
Legislation (BOE consolidated texts, consulted on 12 September 2026)
Caretakers' pay depends on the size and complexity of the estate, the area to be supervised, the independence required and each partner's duties: animals, machinery, driving, tracks and facilities, any farming, livestock or hunting activity and the seasons with guests.
As a guide for Spain, the couple earn between €3,000 and €6,000 gross a month, depending on experience and responsibilities.
2 × 2026 SMI over 12 payments (€1,424.50 each); over 14 payments, €1,221 a month each plus the two extra payments
Social Security paid by the family
≈ 22% of each salary (household)
different rates if the relationship is ordinary employment: General Scheme or Special Agricultural System
Cottage and utilities
separate from the range
if valued in kind, up to 30% and never taking cash pay below the SMI; electricity, water and heating oil in writing
Vehicle and fuel
provided by the estate
car or four-wheel drive for errands, shopping and rounds
Maids & Co fee
1 month's salary + VAT
one-off, only on hiring · includes the 6-month guarantee
In other European countries, pay can be considerably higher and varies with the country, the local labour market, the cost of living and the specific features of the role. Accommodation provided by the family is not included in the €3,000 – €6,000 range.
HOW WE SELECT A CARETAKER COUPLE
From assessing the estate to the couple's start
We select two professionals who must fit individually, as a couple and in the independent life of an estate, with a single point of contact for the family.
1
Assessing the estate
We define the features of the property, its uses, the duties of each partner and the main terms of the position.
2
Selecting and presenting couples
We check with references the estates each couple has worked on, their size, animals and machinery, the duties they took on personally and their independence.
3
Interviews and assessment
We arrange interviews with the shortlisted couples and support the family throughout the assessment and the final decision.
4
Start and formalities
We support the couple's start and the terms of the role. Each partner has their own employment relationship, in line with the country and activity.
THE SEASON WITH FAMILY AND GUESTS
The estate in high season: family, guests and events
Driven hunts, tientas (the testing of young fighting cattle), celebrations, weekends with guests or long stays greatly increase occupancy and call for close coordination between service in the house and the needs outdoors.
Caretakers do not necessarily do all the work themselves: when the volume requires it, temporary extra staff are brought in for cooking, service or cleaning, or they work alongside other couples or permanent estate staff. The couple prepare the property and coordinate extra staff and suppliers before, during and after the event.
Main house and bedrooms ready for multiple arrivals
Access, parking and vehicles ready for the busiest days
Coordination with field staff, hound packs and suppliers
Getting the estate back in order once the event is over
MACHINERY, LICENCES AND PERMITS
Machinery, licences and permits for caretakers
On a remote estate, the caretakers' ability to handle the equipment and resolve minor problems is especially important.
Where the role includes hunting duties that require a firearms licence or other permits, we check that each partner's experience with firearms and documents are adequate. Previous experience on hunting estates and knowing how a driven hunt is organised are also valued.
Driving licence and experience with four-wheel drives and field vehicles
Tractor, trailers and farm machinery where the role requires it
Brushcutter, chainsaw and outdoor maintenance tools
Water pumps, irrigation, booster pumps and generators
Basic electrics, plumbing, painting and light building work
Riding, on estates with horses that need it
LIVING FAR FROM TOWN
What caretakers need on a remote estate
Many estates lie far from shops, schools and services, and caretakers do not only work there: they spend much of their daily life there. So when defining the role, we go through these conditions with the family.
Self-contained accommodation, with utilities, suited to living there long term
An estate vehicle where the location and duties require it
Adequate internet connection and communications
Reasonable access to services and schools if the couple have children
Organising shopping, rest days and cover for the property
Stable employment terms even when the pace changes with the season
Planning for snow, storms or difficult access
CARETAKER-DRIVER AND SINGLE CARETAKER
When the estate does not need a full couple
Not every estate needs a caretaker couple. Where there are already household staff, the house is little used or the indoor needs are covered, a single caretaker or a caretaker-driver, who also drives during the family's stays, may be enough.
We also select these profiles. The choice between one person and a couple depends on the workload, the size of the estate, the needs of the house, how often it is occupied and the presence needed while the family is away.
Caretakers for estates throughout Spain and Europe
We select caretakers for leisure, farming, livestock, hunting and mixed-use estates throughout Spain and in other European countries. Where distance requires it, the process combines video interviews with the necessary in-person stages and the checking of references before the couple start.
Guardés, casero, mayoral, mozo de cuadra: who is who
The names change by region and by type of estate. These are the ones that appear in job specs.
Guardés / guardesa / guardeses
The couple (or person) who live on the estate and keep the house, grounds and domestic animals, with continuous presence. Household employment. In English, caretaker couple.
Casero / caseros
The same profile under its traditional name in Andalusia, Castile and the north: those who keep the country house.
Masover / masovers
In Catalonia, the couple who live on the masía and keep it. If they also farm the land for a share of the crop, they have a masovería (an agricultural contract under Catalan civil law), not household employment.
Licensed private security, with an Interior Ministry professional card and uniform; protects rural estates and, the gamekeeper, hunting preserves. Not domestic staff.
Encargado de finca (farm / estate manager)
Runs the farming or livestock business: crops, staff and machinery. Ordinary employment (Special Agricultural System for farm work).
Mayoral (head herdsman)
In charge of the livestock on a livestock farm (ganadería), especially fighting bulls: handling, tientas and branding days. A farm role, not a household one.
Mozo de cuadra (groom)
Looks after the horses: feed, mucking out, exercise and tacking up. May be one partner of the couple or a separate hire.
Rehala (hunting pack)
A pack of hunting dogs and its handler, hired for the driven hunt. The caretakers coordinate their arrival, where they are placed and how they are fed.
Jardinero-mantenedor (gardener-handyman)
The outdoor half of the couple: garden, irrigation, pool, small repairs and suppliers. Also called groundskeeper.
Couples, estates and country houses: related pages
A couple who live on the estate and jointly look after it: the main residence, the grounds and, where relevant, the animals and the tasks that come with country life. They usually work independently and far from towns.
Usually one focuses on service in the house and looking after the family, and the other on the grounds, maintenance, the animals and the estate. At the busiest times, both work closely together.
In Spain, between €3,000 and €6,000 gross a month for the couple, depending on experience and the responsibilities of the role. Accommodation is not included in that range. In other European countries, pay can be considerably higher.
No. A licensed gamekeeper is private security authorised by the Interior Ministry; caretakers are household employees who look after the estate. Where the estate has a gamekeeper, they work in coordination, and each is hired separately.
It depends on the estate: livestock (feed, water, fencing and reporting problems to the head herdsman or vet), horses (stables, mucking out and, if needed, riding), dogs and farmyard animals. We check which animals each couple has cared for and which professionals they worked with.
A driving licence where the role requires one and experience with tractors, trailers, four-wheel drives, brushcutters, chainsaws, irrigation, water pumps and generators. On hunting estates, certain duties may require specific licences or permits.
They supervise and maintain the estate: regular rounds, checking tracks and fencing, irrigation, gardens, animals, airing the house, receiving suppliers and following up incidents, as well as preparing the house for the next arrival.
On some estates, one is enough. A single caretaker or a caretaker-driver may be sufficient where there are already household staff, the house is little used or the indoor needs are covered by other professionals.
