Do Minnesota sellers have to disclose radon?
Yes. Radon disclosure Minnesota law — the Minnesota Radon Awareness Act, Minn. Stat. § 144.496 — requires every seller in the state to disclose, in writing, what they already know about radon before a buyer signs a purchase agreement. That means handing over any test results you have, any mitigation records, a state Radon Warning Statement, and a copy of the Minnesota Department of Health’s radon publication. And unlike most of what’s on Minnesota’s Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement, this one survives an as-is sale. You cannot waive it.
If you’re selling anywhere in the Twin Cities — Minneapolis, St. Paul, Edina, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Eden Prairie, all of it — this isn’t a rule reserved for rural homes with well water and a crawlspace. Hennepin County and the entire metro sit in EPA Radon Zone 1, the agency’s highest-risk designation. The Minnesota Department of Health estimates roughly 2 in 5 homes statewide test above the EPA’s action level of 4.0 pCi/L, and only about 1% of homeowners test in any given year. High prevalence, low testing: that gap is exactly why the radon disclosure Minnesota requires catches sellers off guard.
Why Twin Cities sellers are exposed more than most
Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that occurs naturally in the soil underneath every Minnesota home. It seeps up through foundation cracks, sump pits, and unsealed utility penetrations, and it tends to concentrate in basements — which is most of the Twin Cities’ housing stock, old and new alike. The state’s glacial soils and long, cold winters make it worse: furnaces and forced-air systems can pull more radon-laden air into the lowest level of the house during heating season, which is most of the year here.
What the radon disclosure Minnesota law actually requires
Before you sign a purchase agreement, the radon disclosure Minnesota statute requires you to:
- Disclose what you know — any radon test results you have, no matter how old, plus any records of mitigation or remediation work
- Provide a Radon Warning Statement in writing, using the form drafted for this purpose (the Minnesota State Bar Association’s model form is the one most title companies and agents use)
- Hand over the MDH publication on radon in real estate transactions, so the buyer has the same baseline information you do
- Describe any installed mitigation system if your home already has one, including when it was installed and whether it’s been serviced
Unlike the federal lead paint disclosure, there’s no mandated minimum testing window built into state law. In practice, radon testing happens the same way most other inspection items do — during the buyer’s standard home inspection period, negotiated in the purchase agreement like any other contingency.
The as-is trap: why radon disclosure survives a waiver
Minnesota lets sellers waive most of the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement through a specific written alternative. Sellers hear “as-is” and assume it covers everything, including radon. It doesn’t. Radon disclosure Minnesota law treats this duty as one of a short list that survives any as-is agreement, any signed waiver, any purchase agreement language saying the buyer takes the home exactly as it sits. There’s no version of selling as-is in Minnesota that lets you skip the warning statement, the MDH pamphlet, or disclosing a test result you already have in a drawer somewhere.
The exposure for skipping it isn’t abstract. Under Minn. Stat. § 513.57, a seller who fails to disclose a known material fact — radon included — can be liable to the buyer for up to two years after closing, and the buyer doesn’t need much more than proof you knew and stayed quiet. Agents who’ve handled these claims will tell you the sellers who get burned usually aren’t the ones with a bad radon reading. They’re the ones who assumed as-is meant “nothing left to disclose” and sat on an old test result instead of handing it over.
What it actually means for your sale
Here’s the part that surprises most sellers: you don’t have to test for radon to sell your home. The radon disclosure Minnesota law only requires you to disclose what you already know — it doesn’t require you to go looking. If you’ve genuinely never tested, “unknown, no records” is an honest and fully legal answer.
That said, a few things are worth knowing before you list, especially in an older west-metro home:
- A real-estate-grade test runs about $200–$500 if you want a documented result in hand before you negotiate, rather than reacting to a buyer’s number mid-contract.
- Mitigation, if needed, typically costs $800–$2,500 installed, with most Twin Cities homes landing around $1,200–$1,800 for a standard active sub-slab system.
- Buyers increasingly expect this conversation up front. Sellers who test ahead of listing and disclose a clean result — or disclose a known issue with a completed mitigation system attached — tend to keep more control over the negotiation than sellers who let a buyer’s inspector surface it first.
- Pairing a tested, disclosed home with clean documentation on your Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement gives buyers one less reason to come back with a long inspection-period ask list.
None of this changes your asking price on its own. What it changes is how smoothly the first week or two after you accept an offer actually goes — and whether radon becomes a quick, expected line item or a surprise renegotiation during the buyer’s inspection window.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every home in Minnesota have dangerous radon levels?
No. Roughly 2 in 5 Minnesota homes test above the EPA’s action level, but the only way to know where your home falls is to test it. The radon disclosure Minnesota law requires is triggered by what you know or don’t know, not by a confirmed reading — “never tested” is a legitimate answer on the form.
Do I have to test for radon before I sell my house?
No. Minnesota law does not require sellers to test. It only requires you to disclose, in writing, any test results, records, or mitigation history you already have. If you’ve never tested, you disclose that honestly and move on.
Does an as-is sale get me out of the radon disclosure?
No. Minnesota’s as-is waiver applies to the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement. Radon disclosure Minnesota law is a separate statutory duty (Minn. Stat. § 144.496) that survives any as-is agreement, any waiver form, and any “buyer takes the house as it sits” language in the purchase agreement.
What happens if a buyer’s radon test comes back high?
You negotiate from there, the same way you would with any inspection finding. Common outcomes are a closing credit in the $800–$2,000 range, the seller installing a mitigation system before closing, or a price adjustment. A high reading rarely kills a deal, but it does shift the conversation during the buyer’s inspection period.
How much does radon mitigation cost in Minnesota?
Most Minnesota homes run $800 to $2,500 installed, with a typical active sub-slab system landing around $1,200 to $1,800. Cost depends on foundation type and how the home was built — homes built before 1980 tend toward the higher end of that range.
Selling an older or newer home anywhere in the Twin Cities comes with a short list of disclosure duties that survive even an as-is sale — radon is one of them, right alongside the lead paint disclosure required on pre-1978 homes. If you’re getting ready to list in Edina, Minnetonka, Wayzata, or anywhere else in the metro, I’m happy to walk through exactly what needs to be disclosed, whether testing ahead of time makes sense for your home, and what either path means for your timeline. Get a free home valuation and we’ll go through it together.
About Hammer Group
Hammer Group is a Twin Cities real estate team with Compass, helping buyers and sellers navigate the Minneapolis–St. Paul market with a calm, data-driven approach. The team focuses on luxury and move-up homes across the western suburbs.
