Texas Radon Disclosure Requirements for Home Buyers and Sellers

Buying or selling a home involves a long list of inspections, disclosures, and paperwork. Radon may not receive as much attention as structural problems, termites, or previous water damage, but it is specifically addressed in Texas residential property disclosure requirements.

Under Texas Property Code § 5.008, sellers in many residential real estate transactions are required to provide a Seller’s Disclosure Notice describing known conditions at the property. Among the conditions specifically listed on the disclosure: radon gas.

However, there is an important distinction between disclosing radon and testing for radon. Texas property disclosure requirements do not mean that every home must be tested for radon before it can be sold.

For residential transactions covered by Texas Property Code § 5.008, the seller provides a written disclosure of their knowledge of the property’s condition. The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) provides Seller’s Disclosure Notice Form 55-1, which may be used to satisfy the requirements of § 5.008.

Section 4 of the form asks whether the seller is aware of several conditions affecting the property, including:

The form provides a way for sellers to identify conditions they are aware of, and provide additional explanation if necessary.

One of the most important things for both buyers and sellers to understand is that the Seller’s Disclosure Notice is based on the seller’s knowledge of the property’s condition on the date it is signed. It is also not a substitute for inspections that may provide additional information about the property.

This means that a seller indicating they are not aware of radon gas is not the same thing as a radon test showing a low radon level—the home may simply never have been tested. Because radon is colorless, odorless, and cannot be detected without testing, neither the seller nor the buyer can determine the home’s radon level simply by inspecting the property.

That distinction makes radon testing particularly important during a real estate transaction.

Previous radon testing provides additional information about the property. If a home has been tested in the past, those results can help establish whether elevated radon levels have previously been identified.

The same situation may arise when a property already has a radon mitigation system. An existing system can indicate that high radon levels were previously identified, and measures were taken to reduce its concentration inside the home. But that does not necessarily mean that there’s an ongoing radon issue with the property, nor does it mean that the problem has been adequately mitigated even if a system has been installed for some time.

Buyers can review previous test results, mitigation documentation, and more recent testing to better understand the home’s current radon levels.

A seller’s disclosure can provide useful information about the property’s history, but it cannot establish the home’s current radon concentration unless testing has actually been performed.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends testing for radon when buying or selling a home, as testing is the only way to determine the amount of radon present inside a building. Radon levels can also vary substantially from one property to another; a neighboring home with a low test result does not mean that a neighboring home will have the same result.

For buyers, testing during the inspection or due diligence period provides current information about the property. For sellers, testing before listing can establish the home’s radon level and identify whether mitigation may be appropriate before the sale.

Finding elevated radon does not necessarily mean a real estate transaction has to come to an end.

Radon can often be reduced using a professionally-installed radon mitigation system. The EPA recommends taking action to reduce radon when testing shows a level of 4 pCi/L or higher. The EPA also notes that radon levels below 4 pCi/L still carry some risk, and that homeowners may consider reducing levels between 2 and 4 pCi/L.

Depending on how the home is constructed, mitigation may involve methods such as sub-slab depressurization or other systems designed to collect radon-containing soil gas beneath the home and safely exhaust it outdoors.

After mitigation, follow-up testing can verify how effectively the system is reducing indoor radon concentrations, and a radon OM&M plan may be beneficial for the property long-term.

Texas’s Seller’s Disclosure Notice specifically recognizes radon as a property condition sellers may be asked to disclose when they are aware of it. But disclosure and testing serve two different purposes: a disclosure tells you what the seller knows, and a radon test tells you what the radon level actually is.

Whether you’re preparing to sell a home, considering the purchase of a property, or evaluating a previous elevated radon result, professional radon testing can provide useful information about current conditions inside the home.

Southwest Radon Eliminators provides professional radon testing and mitigation services for residential properties throughout Texas. If testing identifies elevated radon levels, our team can install a radon mitigation system to help reduce indoor radon levels!