My realtor says I need a radon test before closing. How does that work?

What the statute actually says

Minnesota Statute 144.496, the Minnesota Radon Awareness Act, requires three things from a seller of any residential real property before the purchase agreement is signed:

1. A written disclosure listing any radon concentration results known by the seller, including the year, the location in the home, and the testing method.
2. A description of any radon-resistant construction or any radon mitigation system installed in the home, including basic operating information.
3. A short statement from the Minnesota Department of Health (the "MDH Radon Warning Statement"), which the seller signs and the buyer signs.

The buyer signs to acknowledge they received the disclosure. Both signatures go on the same form before the purchase agreement is final.

What changes the answer

• If the seller has never tested: the disclosure says so. There is no "you must test" trigger. Disclosure is about known information, not hypothetical information.
• If the seller tested years ago and the number was low: the result still gets disclosed. The buyer can decide whether to re-test.
• If the seller has a mitigation system already in place: they disclose it. When it was installed, where it vents, and the most recent post-mitigation test result if one exists.
• If the home is new construction: Minnesota's building code (effective 2009) requires a basic radon-control layout under the slab. That layout is the radon-resistant construction the seller discloses. A separate test result is its own line on the form.

Common Rochester scenarios

Buyer wants a radon contingency on a Pine Island closing

The buyer adds a contingency to the purchase agreement allowing for a radon test during the inspection window. If the result comes back at or above 4 pCi/L, the buyer can ask the seller to mitigate, ask for a credit, or walk. None of that is set by statute. It is a negotiation handled inside the contingency. The disclosure piece is separate and still required.

Seller has a Mayo Clinic relocation buyer with a tight calendar

Standard relocation timelines run 30 to 45 days from offer to close. A short-term radon test takes 2 to 7 days. The disclosure goes in the packet at offer; if a contingency test is added, results land well inside the inspection window. We have worked enough of these closings to know the pace.

Mitigation goes in mid-closing

When a test during the inspection window comes back high, the seller may agree to install a mitigation system before close. Once it goes in, the system itself becomes part of the next round of disclosures. The post-install test result is the one that gets recorded.

Frequently asked

Does a Minnesota seller have to test for radon before listing?

No. Disclosure is about what the seller already knows. If you have never tested, that is what you disclose.

What happens if the seller doesn't disclose?

Minnesota's disclosure framework treats radon information the same way it treats other material facts. A buyer who later discovers undisclosed information may have a remedy under the general property-disclosure statutes (Minnesota Statutes 513.52 through 513.60). We are not your lawyer, and that is the question to take to a Minnesota real estate attorney.

Does this apply to commercial property?

The Minnesota Radon Awareness Act covers residential real estate. Commercial transactions and certain transfers (foreclosure, court-ordered, between co-owners) have their own rules.

What if my house was built after 2009?

Minnesota's radon code added basic passive radon controls to the new-construction requirements in 2009. The seller discloses that the home was built under the code, but a code-required layout is not the same thing as a mitigation system or a test result. Most post-2009 Rochester homes still benefit from at least one short-term test once people move in.

Sources

• Minnesota Statute 144.496. The Minnesota Radon Awareness Act. The text and the official MDH Radon Warning Statement form are on the MN Department of Health site.
• Minnesota Statutes 513.52 through 513.60. The general property-condition disclosure framework.
• Minnesota Department of Health, Indoor Air Unit. The agency that maintains the warning statement and the radon program.
• Rochester area testing data. See our Rochester area radon data page for what tested homes in the region actually look like.