N.S. landlord calling for mandatory radon testing in rental properties

A Halifax woman is calling for mandatory radon testing at rental properties in Nova Scotia.

Isabel Tees owns four rental properties in the Halifax Regional Municipality with a total of 16 units, including one that she lives in. When she found radon in two of her buildings, she contacted a remediation company and had the problem fixed.

But she is doubtful that most landlords are testing for radon — and she says that puts tenants at risk.

“It’s dangerous,” said Tees, who lives near the campus of Dalhousie University, where many students are renters.

“Kids are moving in. They’re living in basements. They don’t know. They could come back to the same apartment for three years in a row, four years in a row and could be affected by radon and they won’t know until years later.”

Radon is an invisible, odourless, naturally occurring gas that can seep from the ground into buildings and, over time, cause lung cancer in occupants. Radon levels tend to be higher in basements than upper floors.

It is estimated that radon causes more than 100 deaths per year in Nova Scotia.

Fourth-year Dalhousie University student Will Kearns, who rents a first-floor room in a house, said he doesn’t know much about radon or the danger it can pose.

“It has never crossed my mind. I have never really heard of radon,” he said.

Anna Kobelev, also a renter, said she has not heard of radon either, but “if I hear [of] something cancer-causing, I’m going to be concerned about it.”

Radon testing and remediation

According to a 2024 study by Evict Radon, Nova Scotia has higher than average radon occurrences and levels compared with the rest of the country, with a 36.8 per cent likelihood of a building containing high radon levels.

Canada’s guideline for radon exposure says if the average annual radon level in a building exceeds 200 becquerels per cubic metre, corrective action is recommended — though it also notes that no level is considered risk-free.

Radon monitors can be purchased or, in some areas, obtained for free through public libraries or MLA offices. Radon measurement professionals can also be hired to conduct testing.

Even if tenants test for radon and discover levels higher than the guideline, it’s unlikely they would be in a position to fix the problem themselves.

A radon mitigation system typically involves installing a pipe in the foundation that contains a fan to draw radon gas from below the building and release it safely outside through an attached vent.

The cost of mitigating radon can be $1,500 to $5,000, but may be more depending on the structure.

No explicit requirement

While Nova Scotia’s Residential Tenancies Act already requires landlords to keep premises “fit for habitation” and comply with rules respecting “standards of health, safety or housing,” it does not specifically mention radon testing or mitigation.

In the Halifax Regional Municipality, residential occupancy bylaw M-200 specifies a laundry list of requirements that must be met, including things like having smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and screens on windows.

Tees says testing for radon should be explicitly included.

“Even the window screens we’re required to put in, and yet we’re not mandated to test for this radioactive gas that can kill people,” she says. “Somehow that just seems wrong.”

She says without mandatory testing, it is unlikely most landlords would voluntarily test their properties for radon.

Kevin Russell, the executive director of Rental Housing Providers Nova Scotia, said the organization does not have a formal position on requiring radon testing, so he declined an interview on the issue.

Michelle Donaldson, the communications director for The Lung Association of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, said the group occasionally hears from tenants who have tested their apartments, found high levels of radon and are wondering what to do about it.

She said in that scenario, a tenant should speak with their landlord to see if they are willing to carry out mitigation. But she recognizes tenants may have limited options.

“Tenants wouldn’t have the authority to make changes within the property without the landlord’s permission. So obviously that would be a barrier,” Donaldson said.

Donaldson said she’d like to see a discussion take place about including radon testing in bylaws and the Residential Tenancies Act.

Lung NSPEI has a radon grant program for low-income people to apply to get a free testing kit.

Service Nova Scotia, the department responsible for the Residential Tenancies Act, said in a statement that tenants can test their unit for radon, and if the level is found to be high, they can approach their landlord to discuss it.

If the landlord does not take steps to remediate the radon, tenants can have the issue addressed through the Residential Tenancies Program, the statement said.

Redress can be challenging

But Mark Culligan, a community legal worker with Dalhousie Legal Aid Service, said even if an order is made through the Residential Tenancies Act for a landlord to take action on something, it can be difficult to enforce, and it often falls to the tenant to pursue legal action.

“A lot of these kind of issues are just left up for a tenant to make a claim about. And that puts a financial and a kind of administrative burden on the tenant,” Culligan said.

He said mandatory testing requirements for radon make sense, and since the radon risk varies throughout the province, “it speaks to a need for provincial standards.”

The statement from Service Nova Scotia said the department has worked with its partners in health to raise awareness of radon testing among landlords.

Across Canada

Some rental boards elsewhere in Canada have previously ruled that excessive radon levels violate the provisions of provincial residential tenancies acts.

In its guide for provinces and territories, Health Canada stops short of saying changes should be implemented to protect tenants from radon, but it does list potential reforms that could be introduced, including:

• Making a clear statement in residential tenancies law concerning the need to test for and mitigate radon.
• Updating public health acts and policies to clarify that elevated radon is a health hazard or violates housing standards for public health reasons.
• Adding radon to the municipal standard of maintenance bylaw that protects renters.

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