Landlords have a responsibility to their tenants under Duty of Care and the Housing Act to provide a safe home.

Radon is identified as a potential hazard in dwellings in the Housing Act 2004. The need for action is defined by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System which applies a numerical score to the different hazards depending on their overall risk to the occupant. If the score exceeds certain trigger points the local housing authority (Local Authority) is obliged to act. The Local Authority will take the 'appropriate enforcement action' which is dependent on the severity of the risk. The measured annual average radon level is used to calculate the risk.

Further information on the Housing Act.

Measuring radon

Radon measurements are recommended if properties are in radon Affected Areas. We offer a service to identify these for individual homes and for landlords with large property portfolios. We also offer a measurement service for individuals and for landlords.

We recommend that action to reduce radon levels is taken if the annual average radon concentration in a property is at or above the Action Level of 200 Bq m-3.

The type of remedy is linked to the construction of the property and the annual average radon level. For radon measurements made by UKHSA, advice is given within the result report on the most appropriate remedy for the individual property.