What a renter can fix, and how to ask the landlord for repairs
A basic tool kit, the resets you can do, the line where a repair goes to the landlord or a trade, a repair log and one written request.
- Start here: the essentials
- 1. Who is responsible for what
- 2. A starter tool kit
- 3. Resets you can do: a breaker, a GFCI, a plunger, a bulb
- 4. Stop signs and emergencies
- 5. Asking for a repair in writing
- 6. See it: Dani's faucet, and a condo's faucet
- 7. Practice: one test and one request
- 8. Your home
- 9. Check your work
- 10. Knowledge check and scenario
Start here Essentials
At minimum, test one GFCI outlet, send one repair request in writing, and put the landlord's contacts where you can find them in a hurry. Everything marked Go deeper can wait.
- Gather a basic tool kit from what you have, and put what is missing on the essentials list (the tool kit).
- Find the breaker panel and the nearest GFCI outlet, and test the GFCI with a night light. Mark the test, with the date, on the phased plan (the GFCI test).
- Write one repair request for anything on the move-in record that is not working or was promised, dated, with a photo, and log it with how you sent it on the repair log (requests in writing).
- Write the landlord's regular and emergency contacts on the home facts sheet (stop signs and emergencies).
Minimum time: about 40 minutes. Done when: the repair log has one dated request with how it was sent (or a dated line saying nothing is open yet), and the GFCI test is recorded.
1. Who is responsible for what Understand
Before any tool comes out, settle whose repair it is. In a rental, the lease and the state's law set what the landlord repairs. In a condo, the association's documents divide the building between the association and the owners. In a house you own, almost everything is yours. The table sorts the common situations; the lease or the documents settle each one.
| Your situation | Who usually handles repairs | Where the answer is written | How to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renting from a landlord or management company | The landlord, for what the lease and state law assign to them | The lease; your state's tenant guide | In writing, by the method the lease names (portal, email, letter) |
| Renting a room from someone who lives there | The person you rent from, as you agreed | Your written agreement or house rules | In writing, to that person |
| Student housing | The housing office or its maintenance staff | The housing contract | The housing office's work-order system |
| Owning a condo or co-op unit | The association for common elements; you for your unit | The association's declaration, bylaws and rules | The association's manager, in writing; a licensed trade for your unit |
| Owning a house | You, through a licensed trade where one is needed | Warranties and manuals, if any | A call to the trade, logged on the repair log |
| Living rent-free with family or friends | The owner of the home | Your understanding with them | Ask them directly; write down what was agreed |
Common elements are the parts of a condo building that all the owners share through the association, such as the roof, the hallways, the structure and the shared pipes. Exactly where the association's part ends and yours begins varies by building.
What a landlord repairs: one state as an example
Repair duties vary by state and sometimes by city. As one example, the Minnesota attorney general's tenant handbook says a landlord must keep the unit in reasonable repair, that a tenant cannot waive that duty, and that heat must reach at least 68°F from October 1 through April 30. Other states set other rules. To find yours, look for your state attorney general's or housing agency's tenant guide, or ask a legal aid office. Ask the authority
The lease adds detail: who replaces light bulbs and batteries, who handles pests, how to send a request, what counts as an emergency, and what happens with damage a tenant or a guest causes. Lease and move-in record put the lease's repair lines on the lease answers sheet (lease and move-in record).
For owners
An owner has no landlord to write to, so the first question is whether the problem is in the unit or in a common element. The Maryland Insurance Administration's condo page describes two policies that usually cover a condo: the association's master policy, which generally covers common areas and the building's exterior and structure, and the owner's own HO-6 policy, which covers the unit's interior, belongings and liability inside the unit. It tells owners to check the bylaws and ask the association which policy covers what. Utilities and accounts covers the terms; this chapter only routes the repair. Which policy pays for a given repair is a question for the association and an insurance agent, not for this manual.
One question for owners in their first months: has the home been tested for radon? The EPA's risk tables mark 4 pCi/L and above as the level to fix and suggest considering a fix between 2 and 4. Testing and fixing are outside this manual; the EPA's radon pages and your state's radon program are where to start. Ask the authority
- Maryland Insurance Administration, Condominium insurance FAQs: the master policy and the HO-6, defined by a state regulator.
- EPA, Health Risk of Radon: the risk tables and the 4 pCi/L action level.
2. A starter tool kit
A first home needs a few tools for the resets in this chapter, for hanging things where the lease allows, and for putting furniture together. No agency publishes a renter's tool list. The International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI) publishes a list of 15 tools for homeowners, which is one professional body's list. Ours is shorter and built for the work this manual teaches.
| Tool | What it is for in this manual | Essential on a first pass? |
|---|---|---|
| Plunger (a flange plunger fits a toilet) | A clogged toilet or drain | Yes |
| Flashlight | Reading the breaker panel; a power outage; looking under a sink | Yes |
| Screwdrivers, flat and Phillips | Assembling furniture; tightening a loose cabinet handle | Yes |
| Tape measure | Rooms for the cost split (Sharing a home), furniture, doorways | Yes |
| Night light or small lamp | Testing a GFCI outlet | Yes (any lamp you own works) |
| Pliers | Gripping, bending, holding a small part | Can wait |
| Adjustable wrench | Furniture bolts; a loose nut you can see | Can wait |
| Level | Hanging shelves and pictures straight | Can wait |
| Duct tape | Temporary holds only; not a repair to plumbing or wiring | Can wait |
| Safety glasses | Anything overhead, drilling, or a splash risk | Can wait |
| Utility knife | Opening boxes; trimming | Can wait |
| Picture hooks | Hanging things, if the lease allows holes | Can wait |
| Stud finder | Anchoring furniture, if the landlord allows it (Limited space) | Can wait |
The starter tool kit checklist carries the same list. Mark what you have; put what is missing on the essentials list with have, borrow, secondhand or buy, as Essentials in phases teaches (essentials in phases). Borrowing is fine for the tools you use once a year. Preference
InterNACHI's list adds tools an owner is more likely to use: a combination wrench set, slip-joint pliers, a caulking gun, a hacksaw, a torpedo level, a claw hammer, wire cutters, and a respirator or safety mask. It starts with two plungers, one for the sink and one for the toilet, which is a reasonable split if the budget allows: a toilet plunger and a sink plunger are shaped differently. A renter rarely needs the hacksaw or the caulking gun, because the jobs they serve belong to the landlord.
- InterNACHI, 15 Tools Every Homeowner Should Own: a home inspectors' association's list, led by the plunger.
3. Resets you can do: a breaker, a GFCI, a plunger, a bulb
This manual teaches four things a person can do without opening anything: reset a tripped breaker, test and reset a GFCI outlet, clear a clog with a plunger, and change a light bulb. Each one either restores something that stopped by design or clears a blockage you can reach. Each one also has a point where you stop.
This manual teaches resets and a plunger, and nothing past them. Anything involving wiring, gas lines, the inside of an appliance, a water heater, a valve under pressure, or the building's structure goes to the landlord, the association or a licensed trade (an electrician, plumber or gas technician). A reset that does not hold is a signal to stop and report, not to try harder.
A tripped breaker
The breaker panel is the metal box, often in a hallway, closet, basement or garage, where the home's electricity is divided into circuits. Each circuit breaker is a switch that turns its circuit off on its own when the circuit draws more current than it is built for. When it does, it has tripped. First night and safety had you find the panel (first night and safety).
The Electrical Safety Foundation International's indoor check gives the reset:
- Turn off or unplug things on the dead circuit. The lights and outlets that went out together are on it. This takes the load off before the power comes back.
- Find the tripped breaker. With a flashlight, look for a handle that sits between ON and OFF, or does not line up with the others. A tripped breaker may sit near ON, so look closely.
- Push it fully to OFF, then back to ON. A breaker that skips the OFF step may not reset.
- Plug things back in and note what tripped it. Write the breaker's number and what it controls on the home facts sheet. NC State Extension suggests labeling each circuit; in a rental, a note on the sheet does the same job without marking the landlord's panel.
Stop there if it trips again. NC State Extension says to call an electrician when a breaker trips often; in a rental, that call goes to the landlord. Do not remove the panel's cover or touch anything behind it. Ask the authority
The GFCI test
A GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter) is an outlet, or sometimes a breaker, that cuts the power when it senses current leaking along a path it should not take, such as through water or a person. A GFCI outlet has two buttons, Test and Reset. You find them near water: kitchen counters, bathrooms, laundry areas, garages and outdoors. ESFI warns that a GFCI can keep supplying power after it has stopped protecting you, which is why it gets tested. ESFI and NC State Extension both say to test GFCIs monthly and after a major electrical storm.
- Press Reset so the outlet starts from its normal state.
- Plug in a night light or small lamp and turn it on.
- Press Test. The light should go off.
- Press Reset. The light should come back on.
- Record the date on the phased plan's monthly GFCI row.
If the light stays on when you press Test, or Reset will not stay in, the outlet is not working as it should. Stop using it and report it to the landlord in writing, or call an electrician if you own the home. If an outlet near water is dead and has no buttons of its own, look for a GFCI nearby, sometimes in another room, and press its Reset; one GFCI can protect other outlets. If nothing brings it back, report it. Test it
A clog and a plunger
A plunger is the first tool for a clogged toilet or sink: it pushes and pulls water against the clog without chemicals. A flange plunger has a soft sleeve that folds out of the cup and fits the toilet's drain opening; a flat cup plunger seals better on a sink. The steps below are common practice rather than an agency's procedure. Convention
- If the toilet bowl is rising, do not flush again. Most toilets have a small shutoff valve on the wall behind them, near the floor; turning it clockwise stops the tank from refilling. First night and safety covers the shutoffs.
- Seat the plunger over the opening so the cup is covered with water and sealed.
- Push gently first, to push out the air, then plunge firmly up and down a dozen or so times, keeping the seal.
- Check the drain. Repeat a few rounds. If it will not clear, stop and report it, or call a plumber if you own the home.
For a slow bathroom sink or tub, NC State Extension's first step is to remove the hair from the drain; after that, a drain snake or plunger, or a plumber. It does not suggest chemicals. Poison Control explains why we leave them out: many drain cleaners contain highly concentrated acids or bases that can burn skin and eyes, and splashback is a source of skin injuries. If a chemical cleaner is already in a drain that is still clogged, do not plunge it; tell the landlord or plumber what was used. Cleaning safely covers why cleaning products are not mixed (cleaning safely).
A light bulb
Turn the switch off and let the old bulb cool before you touch it. Convention Choose the new bulb by lumens, the measure of light output, not by watts. ENERGY STAR gives the lumens that replace old incandescent bulbs:
| Old incandescent | Minimum lumens |
|---|---|
| 40 watts | 450 |
| 60 watts | 800 |
| 75 watts | 1,100 |
| 100 watts | 1,600 |
The U.S. Fire Administration says to use bulbs that match the fixture's wattage rating, which is printed inside many fixtures. A fixture that flickers, buzzes, smells hot or shows scorch marks with a new bulb in it is a stop sign, not a bulb problem. Learn Interior Lighting's chapter on bulbs covers color temperature, shapes and bases in depth (Learn Interior Lighting, Bulbs and labels, a sibling manual).
A check, not a fix: the toilet dye test
A toilet that runs or refills on its own may be leaking from the tank into the bowl. The EPA's WaterSense page gives a test to do at least once a year: put a few drops of food coloring in the tank, wait 10 minutes without flushing, and look at the bowl. Color in the bowl means a leak, often from a worn flapper. In a rental, write it up as a routine request. Test it
The flapper, and reading a breaker panel
A flapper is the rubber seal at the bottom of a toilet tank that lifts when you flush and drops to hold water in the tank. When it wears or warps, water seeps into the bowl and the tank refills on its own; that is what the dye test finds. Replacing a flapper is a common owner repair, but this manual does not teach it. A renter reports it; an owner can hire a plumber or follow the toilet maker's instructions.
A breaker panel's door often has a printed or handwritten list of what each breaker controls. The list may be incomplete or out of date, so check it the first time something trips. Larger breakers, sometimes two handles joined together, usually serve 240-volt appliances such as an electric range, dryer or water heater. A main breaker, often at the top, turns off the whole panel. Reading the panel is as far as this manual goes: the cover stays on, and nothing behind it is touched.
- Electrical Safety Foundation International, Indoor Electrical Safety Check (PDF): the breaker reset, GFCI test and hot-plate warning.
- NC State Extension, Preventative Home Maintenance: when to call an electrician, GFCI testing and drains without chemicals.
- EPA WaterSense, Home Maintenance: the toilet dye test and finding the water meter.
4. Stop signs and emergencies
Some problems end the do-it-yourself part right away. The table lists the signs, the first thing to do and who comes next. In a rental, "who comes next" starts with the landlord's emergency line, which belongs on the home facts sheet before you need it.
| What you notice | First | Then | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| A gas smell (rotten eggs) | Leave the building; do not use switches, phones or anything electrical near the smell | Call the gas company or 911 from outside or a neighbor's | Connecticut utility regulator |
| CO alarm sounding | Get everyone outside to fresh air | Call 911 from outside | CPSC; First night and safety |
| Smoke, fire or sparks | Get out; close the door behind you | Call 911 from outside | First night and safety |
| Outlet or switch plate hot to the touch | Unplug what is in it; stop using the switch | Landlord, or a licensed electrician | ESFI |
| Burning smell from an outlet, fixture or appliance | Turn it off or unplug it if you can do so safely | Landlord or electrician; 911 if there is smoke | ESFI; USFA |
| A breaker that trips again after a reset | Leave it off | Landlord, or an electrician | NC State Extension |
| Water where it should not be (a burst pipe, an overflow that will not stop, water near electrical equipment) | Shut off the fixture's valve or the main water shutoff (First night and safety); keep clear of wet electrical equipment | The landlord's emergency line; the association for a common pipe; a plumber if you own it | Columbus water utility; First night and safety |
| No heat in cold weather | Check the thermostat setting and batteries | The landlord's emergency line, then in writing | Minnesota AG (68°F rule, as one state's example) |
| Anything behind a wall, a panel or a cover plate | Stop | Landlord, association or licensed trade | This manual's boundary |
If you smell gas, leave the building first. Connecticut's utility regulator says not to flip light switches, use a phone or electrical equipment near the smell, ring a doorbell, adjust a thermostat or use an elevator, and not to light anything. Call the gas company or 911 from a neighbor's home or away from the smell, and do not look for the leak yourself. If a CO alarm sounds, get everyone outside and call 911 from there.
An emergency repair is a problem that threatens health, safety or the building right now: a gas smell, flooding, no heat in freezing weather, no water, sewage backing up, a door that will not lock. The lease and state rules say what counts, and a landlord may run an after-hours line for them. Call first, then put it in writing the same day or the next, so the record shows when the landlord knew. Ask the authority
- Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, What To Do If You Smell Natural Gas: a state regulator's steps.
- U.S. Fire Administration, Appliance and Electrical Fire Safety: cords, outlets and bulb wattage.
What an owner does first with a leak
An owner has no emergency line to call, so the first minutes are theirs. Stop the water at the nearest valve: the fixture's own shutoff, or the main shutoff First night and safety had you find. The Columbus water utility's page adds that when pipes break, the water heater is turned off too; follow the heater's own label or manual for how. Keep away from wet outlets and appliances. Then decide whose pipe it is. In a condo, a leak from a shared pipe or from the unit above is a call to the association's manager; a leak from your own fixture is a call to a plumber. Photograph everything before cleanup, and write the times on the repair log. Whether insurance applies is a question for the association and your agent.
5. Asking for a repair in writing
The state guides we read agree on the basic method: tell the landlord in writing, date it, and keep a copy. The Minnesota attorney general's handbook says to notify the landlord in writing and keep a copy. California's 2026 tenant guide says the same and adds that an urgent problem can be reported by phone or in person first and then put in writing. Massachusetts's attorney general's guide says tenants can report problems to the landlord and ask the local board of health to inspect. A repair request is that written notice.
Writing does two things a phone call does not. It tells the landlord exactly what is wrong and where, and it leaves a dated record that the landlord was told. That record is what the move-out review and any later question will rely on (your household binder).
What goes in a request
- The date, your name and the unit.
- What is wrong and exactly where: "the kitchen faucet drips when it is turned off," not "the kitchen."
- When you first noticed it, and whether it is on the move-in condition record.
- How it affects the home's use, in one line.
- A photo or short video, with the date.
- When someone can get in, or that you will wait for the landlord's notice.
- How to reach you.
Send it by the method the lease names: a portal, email, a letter. Then log it on the repair log: date noticed, what and where, how urgent, sent to, how sent, date sent, the response, the date fixed, and its status.
November 6, 2026. Unit 3C. The kitchen faucet drips steadily when it is turned fully off; it was dripping at the walk-through on November 1 and is on my condition record. Photo attached. I am home weekday mornings; otherwise, please give the usual entry notice. Dani Ortiz, through the resident portal. Fictional example: Dani's request. The unit number is invented.
Entry for repairs
A repair usually means someone coming in. The lease and state rules say how much notice the landlord gives. The rules differ, so treat each of these as an example only:
- Minnesota: the attorney general's handbook gives at least 24 hours' notice, with entry between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. unless both agree otherwise.
- California: the state's 2026 guide says 24 hours' written notice is presumed reasonable (six days if mailed), generally in normal business hours.
- Massachusetts: the attorney general's guide says entry for repairs is arranged in advance and gives no hour figure.
Emergencies are handled differently in each. Check your lease and your state's guide. Ask the authority
When a repair does not happen
Some states give tenants remedies when a landlord does not repair, with names such as rent escrow (rent paid to a court instead of the landlord while the repair is decided), repair-and-deduct, or withholding rent. These are legal procedures with conditions and deadlines that differ by state. We name them only so you know what to ask about. Your state's tenant guide or a legal aid office says whether any applies to you and how. Ask the authority
The three state guides side by side
| Minnesota attorney general | California Department of Real Estate (2026) | Massachusetts attorney general | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landlord's repair duty | Reasonable repair, which the tenant cannot waive; heat at least 68°F October 1 to April 30 | Described in the guide; check it for your situation | Described in the guide; tenants can ask the local board of health to inspect |
| How to ask | In writing, with a copy kept | In writing, dated, copy kept; urgent problems by phone or in person first, then in writing | Report to the landlord; the board of health can inspect |
| If it is not repaired | Where there is no city inspector, write the landlord and allow 14 days before a rent escrow action | Ask the guide or legal aid | Ask the guide or legal aid |
| Entry notice | At least 24 hours; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. | 24 hours' written notice presumed reasonable; six days if mailed | Arranged in advance; no hour figure |
The guides are summaries of state law written for the public, and each says it is not legal advice. Another state's guide may look nothing like these three.
- Minnesota Attorney General, Landlords and Tenants: During the Tenancy: entry notice and written repair requests.
- California Department of Real Estate, California Tenants, 2026 edition (PDF): entry, deposits and repair requests.
- Massachusetts Attorney General, Guide to Landlord and Tenant Rights: move-in, deposits, entry and repairs.
Writing a follow-up request
If a routine request has no answer after a reasonable time, send a second one in writing. Refer to the first by its date and method ("my request of November 6 through the portal"), restate the problem in one line, say what has happened since (worse, the same, a visit with no fix), attach a fresh photo, and ask for a date. Log it as its own row. Keep the tone factual: the follow-up is part of the record, and it reads best when it is short and specific. How long "reasonable" is depends on the problem and the state; your state's guide may say.
6. See it: Dani's faucet, and a condo's faucet See it
Dani Ortiz rents a 420 sq ft studio on the third floor of a 1958 building from a property management company, with keys on November 1, 2026. Dani uses they/them. Names, dates and details are invented.
Known. At the walk-through on November 1, the kitchen faucet dripped with the handle fully off. Dani photographed it and listed it on the condition sheet. The lease answers sheet says repair requests go through the resident portal.
Assumed. That the drip is routine, not an emergency: no water under the sink, and the cabinet floor is dry. If water were collecting, it would be an emergency call first.
What Dani did. On November 6 (day 5, counting the key day as day 0) they sent the request through the portal with the photo and logged it on the repair log: noticed November 1, "kitchen faucet drips when off," routine, sent to the property manager, by portal, sent November 6. The manager's reply scheduled maintenance for November 10, between 9 and 12. The faucet was fixed on November 10 (day 9), and Dani marked the row confirmed.
The GFCI test. Dani went back to the breaker panel they had found on the first night (First night and safety) and found the GFCI outlet beside the bathroom sink. Reset, night light on, Test (light off), Reset (light on). They marked the test done on the phased plan, with the date.
The tool kit. Dani marked the tool kit checklist from what they had and put a plunger on the essentials list for the first week.
Open, and who settles it. Who repairs the faucet: settled by the manager's written reply and the visit. Whether it stays fixed: Dani's next look under the sink, at the 30-day review in Your household binder.
Marisol Díaz and Kwame Boateng own a two-bedroom condo, built in 1989, in a 40-unit building with an association. They closed on October 10, 2026.
Known. Their kitchen faucet drips. From the association's documents (Lease and move-in record and Utilities and accounts), inside the unit is theirs; the roof and common pipes are the association's.
What they did. The faucet is a fixture inside the unit, so the repair is theirs. This manual does not teach faucet repair, so they called a plumber and logged the call on the repair log: the date, the problem, "plumber," "phone," and the visit date once booked.
Open, and who settles it. Whether anything else is wrong under the sink: the plumber, at the visit. Whether to test for radon: their own decision, with the EPA's pages as the place to start.
Free sources behind this chapter:
- Electrical Safety Foundation International, Indoor Electrical Safety Check (PDF): the breaker reset and the GFCI test.
- Poison Control, What's in drain cleaner: why this manual uses a plunger and not chemicals.
- ENERGY STAR, Learn About Brightness: lumens for each old bulb wattage.
- Minnesota Attorney General, During the Tenancy: one state's repair and entry rules, as an example.
7. Practice: one test and one request Practice
Minimum: the GFCI test done and recorded, one written repair request sent and logged (or a dated line on the repair log saying nothing is open yet), and the landlord's regular and emergency contacts on the home facts sheet. Time: about 40 minutes. Materials: a night light or small lamp, a flashlight, a phone camera, the lease or the lease answers sheet, the condition sheet, the repair log and the home facts sheet.
- Mark the tool kit checklist. Put what is missing on the essentials list.
- Find the breaker panel with the flashlight. Open the door only; note on the home facts sheet where it is and whether the breakers are labeled.
- Test the nearest GFCI outlet with the night light, and record the date on the phased plan.
- Read down the condition sheet for anything marked "not working" or "damaged," or anything the landlord promised to fix. Choose one.
- Photograph it and write the request, with the items from the list above. Send it by the lease's method.
- Log it on the repair log the same day, with how you sent it. Save a copy of what you sent (a screenshot of a portal request works).
- Write the landlord's regular and emergency contacts on the home facts sheet, and put the emergency number in your phone.
- Do the toilet dye test and log a routine request if color appears in the bowl.
- Read the panel's list against what you know (the bathroom outlet, the kitchen lights) and note any gaps on the home facts sheet.
8. Your home Your home
9. Check your work Check your work
Criteria
- Is the GFCI test recorded with a date, and did the light go off on Test and come back on Reset?
- Does the repair log have one request with the date noticed, what and where, the urgency, who it went to, how it was sent and the date sent?
- Does the request say exactly where the problem is, carry a photo and a date, and have a saved copy?
- Are the landlord's regular and emergency contacts on the home facts sheet, and the emergency number in your phone?
- Do you know where the breaker panel is, and which problems on the stop-sign table mean you stop?
Worked example
Dani's log (fictional) has the faucet row: noticed November 1, routine, to the property manager, by portal, sent November 6, maintenance scheduled for November 10, fixed November 10, confirmed. The GFCI test is marked with its date on the phased plan. The manager's regular and emergency contacts are on the home facts sheet. It meets the criteria.
Common mistakes
- Reporting a problem by phone only. The call may fix it; it leaves no record of when the landlord knew.
- Resetting a breaker again and again. A second trip is a stop sign.
- Pouring a chemical drain cleaner into a clogged drain and then plunging it. That is how splashback injuries happen.
- Writing "the bathroom is broken." The landlord needs what, where and since when.
- Testing the GFCI by pressing Test without anything plugged in. Without a light, you cannot see whether the power went off.
- Choosing a bulb by watts and getting a light far brighter or dimmer than intended.
What is still unresolved
This chapter does not say whether a landlord must make a particular repair, how fast, or what a tenant can do if they do not; the lease, your state's tenant guide and legal aid do. It does not teach any repair past a reset, a plunger and a bulb; the landlord, the association or a licensed trade does that work. Whether the requests get answered is settled by the replies you log, and the reviews in Your household binder check the log for anything still open.