Radon and Buying an Existing Home

FACT SHEET | RADON

When buying a home, it is the home buyer's responsibility to ask the seller for the home's radon test results or to request that a radon test be conducted if it has not been done already.

 

Since New York State law does not mandate that homes be tested for radon before a sale takes place, many home buyers are unaware of the importance of radon testing. As a home buyer, you may consider including provisions in the sales contract specifying who should conduct the radon test, what type of radon test should be done, when the house should be tested and how the seller and buyer will share the test results and test costs. Before conducting the radon test, the buyer and seller should also discuss who will pay for any radon mitigation that may be necessary.

If you are buying a home that has already been tested for radon, you may either decide to accept the test results from the seller, ask the seller to perform another test, or you may ask for a new test to be conducted by a certified tester. If you plan to use the seller's test, find out the results of the test; who conducted it; where in the home the test was taken; and what, if any, structural changes have been made to the house since the test was done. Structural changes can affect radon levels, so you may want to retest.

 

If the house you are buying already has a radon reduction system, you should get all of the pertinent information about the system from the seller.


Contact CNY Coalition For Healthy Indoor Air today to learn more.

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