An interested person asks about radon in the house on offer. You have seen a regional map, perhaps an older measurement report, or no building-related information at all. For the sales documents it is crucial not to conflate these different bases into a blanket all-clear. This article concerns preparation in Austria and contains no medical, measurement-technical or individual contractual assessment.
A regional information is not yet a building finding
The Austrian Radon competence centre explains that its area map shows the classification of a municipality. For the actual radon concentration in the house, however, it refers to a measurement in the indoor air. [RADON] A map excerpt therefore does not answer the same question as a measurement report assigned to the specific building.
Our editorial recommendation: first file each piece of information present with its purpose. A document pertaining to the municipality stands alongside the building finding, not in its place. If such a finding is missing, this should be stated as missing information. That is neither a confirmation of low values nor proof of elevated contamination.
First assign any existing report
Check which building and which rooms are covered in the report, when the measurement took place and what actual statement the document contains. If anything about the assignment is unclear to you, ask the responsible technical authority. Do not change any designation in the report so that it appears to fit the current listing better.
Also have ready any known changes to the building or its use, if the competence centre needs them for its classification. Whether an older report still fits the current situation and what further measurement is sensible should be assessed by experts. The article does not state any blanket period of validity for a finding.
Limit the sales wording to the proven scope
Instead of writing “radon-free” or “not an issue here”, describe the basis that actually exists. If a measurement is available, the information chosen for the exposé should be consistent in content with the report and the appropriate expert classification. A single favourable impression during a viewing is not a substitute measurement.
The competence centre describes radon as not immediately perceptible to humans and recommends a long-term measurement under normal room usage to clarify the situation when buying a house. [RADON] The note explains the information limit of a short appointment; it does not guarantee that a particular private measurement attempt is already sufficient for every purpose.
Example: The municipality is classified, the house not measured
A seller concluded from a map that nobody needed to inquire about his house. When preparing the documents he recognises the difference between area classification and the specific building. He does not add a self-invented measurement figure and does not claim an all-clear.
Instead, he records which regional information is available and that he cannot provide a house measurement report assigned to the property. He discusses further questions with a suitable competence centre and, if necessary, with contractual advice. What disclosure or contractual consequences exist in the specific case are not derived from this organisational example.
Honestly link an open assessment and the sales schedule
If an expert appraisal is still pending, it belongs in the actual timetable. The competence centre points out that the long-term measurement recommended for a meaningful house assessment cannot be replaced by a short measurement during a viewing. [RADON] Therefore do not promise a confirmed result for an appointment whose prerequisites have not yet been clarified.
An enquiry about radon should neither be dramatised nor dismissed with an unsubstantiated standard phrase. With a clear assignment of map, report and open assessment, prospective buyers and advisers can recognise which information is actually available. Planning measurements, interpreting them and any possible measures remain the responsibility of the qualified bodies for that purpose; this article does not produce a health finding or a seal of quality for the house on offer.