Buying or selling a house with radon in Pennsylvania
The buyer tested, the number is 9.2. What Pennsylvania law says, who usually pays, and how to keep the deal together.
Radon comes up in most York County home sales, because inspectors offer the test, the county is Zone 1, and about half of York County tests come in at or above the action level. It rarely kills a deal if both sides handle it sensibly.
Disclosure
Pennsylvania's Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law requires sellers to disclose known material defects, and the standard form asks about radon testing and results. A seller who has a test result over 4.0 pCi/L, or a mitigation system, must say so. A seller who fixed it and kept the paperwork can disclose it with confidence, because a working system is a selling point. The DEP publishes a Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide to Radon that most York County agents will recognize.
Video answer: Who pays for radon mitigation when you sell a house in York, PA?
For buyers
- Test. Ask your inspector for a 48-hour continuous-monitor test by a DEP-certified tester. It usually adds $150 to $300 to the inspection.
- Do not panic at the number. 9 or 12 pCi/L is common in York County, where more than a quarter of tests read 10 or higher, and is fixed for $1,200 to $1,800. A house at 30 costs about the same to fix.
- Decide what to ask for. Either the seller installs a system by a DEP-certified mitigator before closing with a passing post-test, or you take a credit equal to a quote and choose the contractor yourself. A credit gives you control; seller-done work is faster.
- If the house already has a system, test anyway to confirm it works, check the manometer, and ask for the installation paperwork and last post-test.
For sellers
If you have never tested, test before listing, in winter if you can. A high number found on your own terms costs $1,200 to $1,800 and a week. A high number found by the buyer's inspector costs the same plus a negotiation you will lose. If you install, use a certified mitigator, get the post-test, and put both documents in the disclosure packet.
Who pays
There is no rule. In York County the seller usually pays, either by installing or by credit, because buyers treat a high test like any other inspection finding. In a strong seller's market buyers sometimes absorb it. Lenders almost never require mitigation; the FHA and VA do not, and conventional lenders leave it to the appraiser, who rarely raises it. If you are not in a sale and wondering whether insurance pays for radon mitigation, it does not; that guide covers what does.
Timing
A certified mitigator can normally install within one to two weeks and the post-test takes two more days, so a radon contingency of three weeks is realistic. Ask for the post-test to start 24 hours after the fan goes on rather than a month later; a short-term test run then is accepted for closing.
After closing
Re-test every two years and after any renovation. If you inherited a system, replace the fan when it dies (about ten years) rather than ignoring a level manometer. See fan replacement and repair.