To question radon in house search

[UniqueShaker]

My partner thinks I am being unreasonable in our house search. We found a lovely house a few months back but both mutually agreed that there was a few things that didn't sit right with us with the property. We decided to expand our search further and found an area we adore.

On research it seems the area is high in radon. 10-30% apparently. The neighbouring area, which we also love, is 30%. On more research we both found we grew up in a 5-10% radon area, but apparently minimal radon protection is required for those levels.

It's not only the radon that's worrying me about the property we like either, it's also been sat on the market for up to two years. It's been listed with 3-4 different agents and I can't understand why. It is beautiful and needs no work. The seller said she thinks the house is struggling to sell as people will feel isolated in the area but that is not the case. The area is semi rural but clearly not isolating and other houses in the area are selling fast. It's a 5 year old property and the estate agent said new builds aren't selling. But new builds in the area are. I'm wondering if radon is putting people off? But also it seems the area is full of farm houses or very large 4-5 bed houses, or 2-3 bed cottages. The property we like is a small 4 bed and they seem few and far between in the whole area, so perhaps that's why? As for not much more money people can buy a larger 4 bed? Also there's only about 3 of these houses been built on the same estate so we know our chance of a 4 bed in the area within our price bracket will be slim if we walk away from this house.

Partner and I both agreed we can compromise on the size to live in the area. But partner thinks I am being unreasonable to potentially walk away from another house we like based on the radon percentage and the fear of the length of time the property has sat on the market.

What would you do? Am I being unreasonable? Do you live in a radon area and if so do you do anything to take precautions?

I'll add I've never been like this in a house search before. We're totally relocating and I think that is causing me to question everything and look so deep.

If it's new build they'll have considered the radon when they built it?

If it's a relatively new build, it should have radon protection (membranes, vents etc.) within the ground floor construction.

@Ablondiebutagoody thank you. do you know how to find out? Sellers said they weren't sure whether it was? Already asked them.

Does it have an NHBC/LABC type warranty?

@Ablondiebutagoody the listing states there's a ten year (I think) new build warranty.

For £3.90 you can order a Radon report from Government backed website...

Ukradon.org

Takes seconds. All you need is the property address.

If it has the warranty then you should be ok, however the radon maps were updated a year or two ago and they did increase the risk in some areas. So there is a risk that it may have been ok when built but the latest maps say not anymore. Get the homeowner to call the warranty provider and see if they can confirm what precautions have been installed. You could insist on radon monitoring if absolutely necessary.

Considering its been on the market so long, I would get the EA to look into that. Presumably the warranty provider would have checked that it is Building Regs compliant and radon protection is a Building Regs requirement. Not sure how you would physically check the building. You won't see the membrane but maybe there are vents with fans or a sump? It's probably nothing to worry about though. I imagine builders in the southwest install it as a rule, no questions asked.

Check the price. New builds here are pricey and they sell for less in the first few years. Then recover and go up.

Ask to see the surveys of this that dropped out. They are no use to them and should be happy to sell them for a few quid

Just ask to have the house tested for the radon level. You can order tests online, install the test cannisters on the lowest level of the house for 48 house and then mail them in for the results. You could also hire a company to test it. I have done this and saved myself from two properties with sky high radon.
It may have sat on the market because there are problems with it that showed up in inspection reports other potential buyers had done.

I’d be asking what was on the ground before it got built on and what remediation works have taken place.

This is great advice, I wasn't aware of the tests. Out of interest, were the 2 houses new builds?

It won't be radon affecting a sale, huge parts of entire areas are radon affected and it's barely glanced at as part of the conveyancing. If it was an issue it wouldn't be mortgageable and that's just not a thing for radon. As a new build in a known radon area it will have been factored into build measures when built.

Is it in Cornwall by any chance? Always high radon there, and won’t be affecting the sale. Sounds like it’s more a combination of being a second hand new build, not the kind of property people are generally looking for in the area, and maybe overpriced for what it is compared to demand in the area. Eg are people usually looking for character properties, or bigger places?

One was about 100 years old and the other was about twenty years old. Where I am radon reduction measures are not mandatory in the building code and not covered in a standard new home warranty, so a new build would be just as risky. Actually more so, because new builds have a much tighter building envelope, which keeps the radon in the house.
People pay almost no attention to radon where I live. It's stupid.

Hello - geologist here - my first job was doing ground investigations for new build housing.

Radon is a naturally occurring gas. Very common in Cornwall and Derbyshire. Radon gas in housing is not new, but it has become a risk to manage since houses became so well sealed (ie: poorly ventilated). In the days of loose sash windows, and single skin brick walls, houses were inadvertently better ventilated than new houses are now.

Radon detection, or being in a high radon area, is not a problem as long as the right precautions (eg membranes, sumps, fans, air bricks) have been put in place. This information should be with the NHBC guarantee for new build homes. We got ours in a big pile of paper info from the solicitor when we bought our house.

Radon would have been detected and as previous geologist has said if membrane has been laid and airbricks it should he fine but you can ask fir a radon check .

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads thank you. I can't see any sump's on any of the houses and looking through the whole area I can't see anything on the side of the houses/ground etc. so it makes me wonder do people just ignore it? It will be worth finding out what precautions were taken in the build. Apparently the houses were built on a past toxic waste dump - I think I have that right.

I’m a building standards surveyor up in Scotland. You should contact the council, as other posters have said, if it’s a new build a membrane would have been specified and an installation certificate provided at completion. You should be able to access the plans for a small admin fee.

If the properties were built on an old tip or brown field site ground remedial work (soil scraping normally) would be specified. Again, I’d expect certification that the works took place and at completion and in my LA planning/ environmental health would be consulted to ensure public safety.

On research it seems the area is high in radon. 10-30% apparently. The neighbouring area, which we also love, is 30%. On more research we both found we grew up in a 5-10% radon area, but apparently minimal radon protection is required for those levels

Those numbers mean that those percentages of domestic properties are above the radon action level, where action to reduce the radon concentration is recommended. It doesn't mean that the radon concentration in any particular property is higher, or that different levels of protection are required.

Even if the area is in a higher band, the majority of properties are unaffected, but you should test. If the radon level is high, the work required to reduce the levels isn't onerous or expensive, and can be accounted for during property purchases with a retention.

If you haven't done so already, this information is useful.

https://www.ukradon.org/information/housesales

Therefore, YABU to discount an otherwise suitable property due to concerns about radon alone.

Well, I had no idea radon existed and now I don't want to breath!

Apparently the houses were built on a past toxic waste dump....

The radon would not bother me, this would!

My thoughts exactly.

There will be environmental reports as part of the planning application online.