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Should I be worried about radon gas at the house I want to buy?

If you are reading this article, your conveyancing solicitor has probably advised you that the results of the environmental search revealed that the property you want to buy is in an area contaminated by radon gas. Radon gas is a naturally occurring gas that has no colour, smell or taste so it is exceedingly difficult to identify.

The last time you heard about radon gas may have been in high school chemistry, where you learnt that it was one of the noble or inert gases that did not react with any other element. This makes radon gas sound harmless.

Science has advanced since then: it turns out that radon is a radioactive gas that is formed from the decay of uranium. As a radioactive element, it produces radiation that is harmful to health.

This may raise questions in your mind about whether the property you are interested in is worth buying.

Knowing about the risk to health from radon gas will be important whether you are going to live in the property yourself or rent it out to tenants.

How dangerous is radon gas at home?

The risk to health from radon gas depends on how much has been measured at the site.

There is always some natural background radiation. The average level of radon gas in UK homes is 20 becquerels per cubic metre (Bq m-3). At low levels – below 100 Bq m-3 – radon gas is not considered a cause for concern. The Government advises that remedial action should be taken in any house with an average national radon gas level of 200 Bq/m3 or more. This level is called the Action Level.

It is also important to remember that we are exposed to radiation from a variety of sources, including things we use every day, such as microwave ovens, mobile phones and laptops. Of the radiation we are exposed to, 60% comes from radon gas in the ground.

When the amount of radon gas measured at the property is more than 100 Bq m-3, it can start to pose a risk to human health. The higher the volume, the greater the risk. Studies show that increased exposure to radon gas can cause lung cancer. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that exposure to radon gas is the second biggest cause of lung cancer – only smoking kills more people.

Is it safe to buy a house that has higher than normal radon gas level?

Just because the property is in an area contaminated by radon gas, does not mean that you should automatically pull out of the property purchase. Even where the radon levels are high, it can be reduced at a reasonable cost.

What conveyancing search reveals information about radon gas levels?

This is revealed by the environmental search. However, unfortunately, the information in the environmental search is not enough to know the real risk to health from radon gas at your property.

The environmental search will usually say something like “the property is located within 25 metres of the centre of a search in a radon-affected area” or “the property is in ‘Radon-Affected Areas’ as identified by the UK Health Security Agency”.

What should my conveyancing solicitor do if searches reveal high radon levels at the house I am buying?

conveyancing solicitor

The first thing your conveyancing solicitor should do is to raise an enquiry with the seller’s solicitor to find out whether they are aware of the presence of radon gas and whether the seller has done a radon test. If the seller has done a radon test, then your solicitor or conveyancer should request a copy of the test report, which should provide the information required to make a decision.

However, research shows that the average length of time people stay in their homes is 21 years. In parts of the country, including Kensington and Chelsea, it could be as high as 35 years. This means the seller could have bought the property at a time before environmental searches became standard or mandatory or included information on radon gas. The seller may also have inherited the property or be the executor or administrator of the deceased owner’s estate, so they may not have done any searches.

If the seller has not done a radon test, the first thing you or your solicitor or conveyancer can do is obtain an address search report from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). At £3.90, this report is cheap and available straightaway online – you just need to provide the address of the property you are looking to buy.

The address search report will not tell you how much radon gas is at the property, but it will tell you the likelihood that the property is in a radon-affected area, defined as an area where the radon level in at least one in every 100 properties exceeds the level at which some form of remedial action is required.

It is important to note that the government-advised Action Level is double the level at which radon exposure can start to affect human health.

So, the address search report will not tell you the amount of radon gas at the property, but it will give you an indication of the likelihood that the property you hope to buy will need work to protect against radon gas.

Hopefully, the address search report from the Health Security Agency will be enough to reassure you that it is safe to live in the property or convince you that it is not.

I want to know the exact risk from radon gas at the property before proceeding.

Of course, given the dangers posed by exposure to a high level of radon gas, you may feel that it is not enough simply to know that a certain number of properties in the area needed remediation work.

On the one hand, you may move into a property, or let tenants move in, assuming that it is safe to do so. On the other hand, you do not want to spend money on any remediation work to protect against radon gas when you do not need to. Even more, you may end up giving up on your dream property out of unnecessary fear.

At any rate, if the property is more than 25 metres long or has any rooms below ground level, such as a basement, then an address search report may not be enough. Public Health England advised that a house with a basement, regardless of whether it is located in an Affected Area or not, will have a higher chance of containing high level of radon gas due to there being larger surface area in contact with the soil through which radon gas could permeate.

What can I do if the house I am purchasing has not been tested for radon?

You can have the house tested. UKHSA provides a Home Measurement Pack that costs around £50. It involves two detectors being placed at the property for three months. It can then be sent back to the UKHSA for analysis.

While the Home Measurement Pack is relatively cheap, it does have disadvantages.

As the buyer, you will not have access to the property, so using the pack requires the cooperation of the seller. This may not be a problem if the seller is living in the property, but you need to trust that the seller will follow the instructions exactly and return the detectors on time to the UKHSA. Even if you set up the detectors and send them for analysis yourself, you still need the seller’s cooperation to access the property.

Will a radon test delay my house purchase?

radon test delay my house purchase

Using the Home Measurement Pack would also delay your purchase (and the seller’s sale) by four to five months.

Furthermore, the Home Measurement Pack cannot be used if building work is going on at the property or if the property is empty for more than two weeks.

Private-sector alternatives to the UKHSA’s Home Measurement Pack may offer more detectors. These could provide a more precise result but, obviously, they are more expensive, and the detectors still need to be in place for three months. If you choose one of these options, you need to make sure that the product is designed for the UK market and that the provider is UK-based.

Digital radon tests available from retailers such as Wickes or Currys can provide results within 24 hours. However, a cursory review shows a wide price range from £90 to £250, and it is not clear how precise these digital tests are.

You need to judge for yourself which option is right for you, taking time, price, ease and potential accuracy into account. This is not a legal decision.

Can I proceed to purchase the property with high radon levels, without a radon test?

You can choose to take the risk and do a test once you have bought the property. It is also worth bearing in mind that the seller may not be willing to wait while you test for radon gas, so you may have to wait until you move in. However, if there is a lender involved, your conveyancing solicitor will need to notify the lender.

The test shows a high level of radon gas. What do I do?

You could purchase the property and deal with it afterwards, you could ask the seller to take steps to reduce the radon level or you could request a radon retention for you to sort out after completion. If the result of the test shows that remediation work is required to reduce radon levels, the main problems are the cost of the work (anything up to £2,000) and when the work is done.

Can I ask the seller to do remediation work to reduce the radon level before the purchase?

It is unlikely that the seller would agree for the work to be done before the completion of the purchase. If the seller did agree to this, you might have to pay a proportion of the purchase price as an advance to cover the cost of the work.

What is a radon retention?

Where remediation work is required, the most likely solution is that your conveyancing solicitor will ask for a radon retention. This is a sum of money that is held back from the proceeds of sale to help with remediation work. The money would be held either by your solicitor or the seller’s solicitor. The contract between the buyer and the seller would have a clause added to it, to deal with the retention; detailing how much is to be held, who is to hold the funds and for how long.

If the radon test is not done before completion of the purchase, then the retention will be between nine and twelve months to allow for testing and analysis. If the test shows that the level of radon gas is below the Action Level, then the money should be released to the seller.

If not all the retention was used for remediation work, then the balance should be paid to the seller.

How much money should be held back as a radon retention?

This depends on the radon level but generally, your conveyancing solicitor should request £2000 as radon retention. Whatever monies not used will be returned to the seller.

Do new houses have to have radon protection?

Radon protection

Since 1999 guidance was published by the government to require radon protection measures to be in place for all new houses. Houses either have Basic Radon Protection or Full Radon Protection. The level of protection depends on the level of radon gas detected.

What does it mean when the house I am buying has Full Radon Protection?

It means the area has high enough levels of radon gas to warrant a full radon protection measure for all new houses. This involves the installation of a gas-tight barrier (radon membrane) across the entire footprint of the house site (this is a Basic Radon Protection) and in addition to this, there is either a ventilated subfloor void or the provision of a standby sump which can be activated if and when required.

You can find out more about radon gas, including what to do if your property is a radon-affected area, from the UKHSA’s website https://www.ukradon.org/.

The various searches that are done during the conveyancing process can raise concerns about the property, and it can be difficult to know how to proceed. Our friendly and understanding team of conveyancing lawyers at Phew Conveyancing can help you figure out what is important. We will not rush you into a decision or push for you to continue reluctantly with the purchase.

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