Radon

[Notsureneverbloodysure]

Close to exchange on a good property. High radon came up so we asked vendor for a retention as suggested by Radon UK. They said no way, as it was build in 2009 and passed building regs. All we want is something that says yes it was built to radon acceptable standards but there doesnt appear to be anything they can show us. Husband very worried and wants to pull out, saying radon advisory safe levels halved in 2010 so the first thing he would want to do upon moving in is test for radon.... House is top of budget, would be very hard to pay for remedial work (not hugely expensive but a few grand we wont have). I'm just not sure what to do. Estate agent basically saying we are being silly (which is really getting my back up) and it's normal, but when you look at radon uk it is impossible not to take it seriously....Surely?! Can anyone advise please? Thanks

we live in an area where radon flags up its in the rocks under our area, we have moved one street from the house we have lived in for the last five years and can honestly say it has had no effect on our lives in any way shape or form

and our estate was built in 1945 on a previous farm estate

Even if you get the house, will you ever be able to sell it? It may be better to pull out now?

I wonder how many others have had that conversation with the estate agent, who knows.

I'm not sure it's something you can fix is it? It's about what is well under the ground.

You can get radon alarms.

Are you in Cornwall?

Radon is something that is managed - you can’t get rid of it but there are steps you can take to stop it impacting your life such
As opening windows, increasing ventilation etc. You won’t know it’s there but it can increase risk to health problems if not managed properly over long periods of time.

Hi folks thanks for your replies. Yes in Cornwall, so that's why radon came up, highest in the country I believe. I think that if we had known sooner we could have had a radon test done but it is too late now as we are under huge pressure from the chain to exchange. Radon, if found to be present in the house, can be remedied, it costs around 2-3k ..... but it is just that we feel the cost should not lie with us. But then on the other hand we arent looking to move out of the area, so any property we buy is likely to be affected. I guess maybe another vendor might be willing to put in the retention, but maybe not!

The estate agent wants the chain to be completed of course they will minimise as much as possible. It would put me off personally. Dont feel pressured into going through with it.

presumably this is an area thing and you haven't had an actual test for the property? So it will come up anywhere in the area. If you are that worried you'll need to buy elsewhere.

don't be pressured into buying if you don't want, but do decide quickly as there is a chain.

also in a radon area.

If you really like the house and are sure that pretty much all houses will have this problem so you can’t get a better one, presumably the seller knew too, the estate agent will be desperate to help the seller as they pay his fees but don’t let that phase you. You could offer to go halves on the cost of remedial works, ie a discount off the price of £1.5k (half the cost of the works) and you’ll exchange immediately?

My mil moved into a house that is high radon, it was on the limit. They were told by solicitor to request the vendor paid for the fan/drain thing to be put in, and the vendor was desperate to sell as she had disabled children and needed to get settled in new adapted house at that agreed. It has a yearly check and the levels have been acceptable. For information, radon is a very heavy gas so opening windows does not help as far as I am aware. I have to say though op I would seriously consider pulling out, my in laws have lived in the house for almost 3 years and have both had no end of serious health troubles, dh and I joke that it's the house and the radon caused it but joking aside I really think there is something in it. In the UK people aren't really aware of the dangers of radon but as I am led to believe it is the second biggest cause of lung cancer next to smoking.

I’m a director of a business that specialises in radon testing and remediation (and am also in the process of buying/selling hence why I’m on this board).

You can get a screening test done but the detectors need to be left in place for 10 days before being returned for analysis, so while much quicker than the full 3 month test it will still take you approx 2.5 weeks to get the results. Can you delay exchange that long? I’d push for this if they’re unwilling to agree to a retention. If they’re so confident it was installed with protection they should have nothing to worry about...

There’s research into the failure rates of newbuild radon protection so the fact it was installed (even if inspected and signed off by someone) means absolutely nothing. The only thing you are interested in is what the radon level inside the property is now.

Radon is indeed the second leading cause of lung cancer and awareness of it is shamefully low. Look out for UK Radon Awareness Week in November though which will try to address that.

Just to correct some misinformation, opening windows isn’t a realistic option for reducing radon levels as you cannot do this constantly and if you open the wrong windows (upstairs) you can actually increase radon levels by increasing the draw from the ground! Radon mixes with all the other gases in the air so the fact it is a heavy gas is a red herring and due to the typical relative humidity of our indoor air, radon is no heavier than “standard air”.

If I liked everything else about the house I wouldn’t walk away from it, even if it had a high radon level. Compared to the value of the house, the cost of any mitigation work will be negligible. And once done, you will have the best type of house to sell in future - one where the radon has already been managed rather than one that has unknown radon levels so don’t let future resaleability put you off

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. Happy to report we have now agreed on a retention and are proceeding on the basis that we will get it tested as soon as we move in and will utilise the retention as required.

I must say, I think it is scandalous that radon is perceived to be a non issue. All the research points to the fact it is a leading cause of lung cancer, yet the message is always dont worry about it! However when pushed (we said we would pull out without it), our solicitor conceded we were doing the right thing and he would do exactly the same. So what about all the people that are just accepting it and never giving it any more thought?!

That’s great! Well done for pursuing it. I completely agree, not just because I’m in the business, but because people’s lives are at stake yet certain property professionals seem to think it’s fine to minimise the issue. You wouldn’t get them saying “oh don’t worry about that ancient boiler, I’m sure it’s not leaking carbon monoxide because the owner said it was fine when it was installed 10 years ago” For the record, carbon monoxide poisoning kills around 40 people every year in the UK, compared to over 1100 lung cancer deaths attributable to radon exposure. It’s not something to run away from, just something to properly assess and then address!

You'd have to dig up Cornwall and Devon then to get rid of it. Lord knows how people have managed to live in those two counties, to ripe old ages in many cases, for centuries; and, yes, I have an old house in Cornwall.