How to Reduce Radon as a Renter: Tenant Rights and Options

Your First Step: Test the Unit

Before anything else, confirm the level. A short-term charcoal test kit ($15–$30) can be placed in your ground-floor or basement apartment for 48–96 hours. Place it in the room where you spend the most time, at least 20 inches above the floor.

If results are below 2.0 pCi/L: low risk, monitor periodically.

If results are 2.0–3.9 pCi/L: elevated, document, and consider requesting testing from the landlord.

If results are above 4.0 pCi/L: the EPA action level is exceeded; you have a basis for a formal request to your landlord.

Talking to Your Landlord

Document everything in writing. A verbal conversation is not a record — an email or certified letter is.

Your request should include:

1. The test result (attach the lab report)
2. A reference to EPA guidance (4.0 pCi/L action level)
3. A request for a professional assessment and mitigation within a specific timeframe
4. A follow-up retest after any remediation is completed

Most landlords who haven't thought about radon will respond reasonably to a professional, documented request. The landlord's biggest motivation: liability. A landlord who is notified in writing about elevated radon and takes no action is in a much worse legal position if a health issue is ever attributed to the property.

What Landlords Are Legally Required to Do

Laws vary by state and are evolving. Current landscape:

• States with specific radon rental obligations: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Minnesota (disclosure and/or remediation requirements for rental properties)
• States with general habitability frameworks: Most states; elevated radon may qualify as a habitability issue, but this interpretation varies and is less certain
• States with no specific radon provisions: The majority; landlord obligation depends entirely on lease terms and general habitability law

Contact your state health department or tenant rights organization for the current law in your state.

What You Can Do Without Landlord Involvement

While you navigate the landlord conversation, a few measures reduce exposure without structural modification:

Ventilation: Open windows and run fans in ground-floor rooms to dilute indoor radon. This is only effective when windows are open — not a long-term solution in cold or hot climates, but useful short-term.

Time and space: Radon is highest at ground level and in the basement. If you have a choice of where to sleep or spend long hours, upper floors are lower-risk.

Continuous monitor: A plug-in or battery radon monitor (Airthings Corentium, Safety Siren Pro) lets you track levels in real time and document them over time. The ongoing record is valuable evidence if you escalate the issue.

When to Consider Leaving

If:

• Radon levels are very high (above 20 pCi/L)
• The landlord is unresponsive or hostile
• You're a long-term tenant in a basement or ground-floor unit
• You have young children or are pregnant

...the health calculus may favor leaving. Radon risk is cumulative — chronic exposure at high levels is a genuine long-term health risk. Weighing the cost and disruption of moving against years of continued exposure is a legitimate calculation.

Shop test kits and monitors → | Radon health effects →