The offer is conditional for ten days, possession is in six weeks, and Health Canada says a proper radon test runs at least 91 days. That math doesn’t work, and most Prairie buyers find out when the home inspector mentions radon and nobody at the kitchen table knows what to do with it.
This guide covers what a radon test before buying a house can and can’t tell you, what it costs, and what sellers should think about when radon comes up. It’s written for Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where radon is common and no law makes anyone test for it.
Why a radon test before buying a house is awkward on the Prairies
Radon is a radioactive gas that comes out of the soil and gets into houses through the basement. You can’t see it or smell it. It’s measured in becquerels per cubic metre (Bq/m3). The Canadian guideline is 200 Bq/m3, about 5.4 pCi/L if you’re comparing with American numbers.
The health side, stated once and plainly: Health Canada calls radon the number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers and estimates it is behind more than 3,000 lung cancer deaths in Canada each year. For smokers it is the second leading cause. That’s the reason to test. It’s not a reason to panic about one house.
Here’s the problem for anyone in a real estate deal. The 200 Bq/m3 guideline is about your average annual level, and Health Canada’s minimum test length is 91 days, ideally during the heating season. Anything shorter is a screening. Health Canada’s own wording is that “short-term measurements are not appropriate for informing mitigation decisions.”
So a buyer with a two-week condition period can’t get the number the guideline is actually built on. What you can get is a rough early read, plus a plan for a proper long-term test once you own the place. C-NRPP, the national certification program for radon professionals, says the same thing: a short-term screening during the sale “could be conducted to provide some insight,” with a long-term test after you move in.
Two more facts worth knowing before you negotiate anything:
- The 200 Bq/m3 figure is a guideline, not a legal limit. The City of Regina puts it bluntly: “there is no legislated maximum level or enforceable level.”
- We found no Manitoba or Saskatchewan rule that requires radon testing or radon disclosure at sale. How that plays out in your offer is a question for your realtor or lawyer, not for a radon website.
If you’re mid-deal and unsure which kind of test fits your dates, call (204) 555-0173 or send us a note through the form. We’ll put you in touch with a certified radon professional who can tell you what’s realistic before your condition date. More detail on the service is on our radon testing for home sales page.
How common high radon is in Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon
Nobody can tell you a specific house is fine without a test. But the survey numbers explain why inspectors bring it up.
The 2024 Cross-Canada Survey, run by Evict Radon with Health Canada, found that about 1 in 5 homes tested nationally were at or above 200 Bq/m3. For Saskatchewan and Manitoba the figure was “approximately 1 in 3.” These are unweighted samples of homes whose owners chose to test, so treat them as a signal, not a census.
City by city, among the homes tested in that survey:
- Regina: 46.6% at or above 200 Bq/m3, with a mean of 182.7 Bq/m3.
- Winnipeg: 37.4%, with a mean of 139.7 Bq/m3.
- Saskatoon: 17.8%, or roughly 1 in 6 tested homes, the lowest of the four Prairie cities in the survey.
Saskatoon’s lower figure doesn’t mean a Saskatoon house is safe. The same report says “There are no areas of Canada that are ‘radon-free’,” and two houses on the same street can test very differently. It depends on the soil under each slab, cracks, the sump, how the house breathes in winter. That’s why a result for the neighbour’s place tells you almost nothing about yours.
Radon testing when buying a house: your options and what they cost
There are really three tools, and they answer different questions. The table sets them side by side. Prices are what one seller or one firm advertises, in Canadian dollars, before tax.
| Option | How long it runs | What it tells you | Cost (CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term test kit | At least 91 days, 3 to 12 months ideal | The result Health Canada’s guideline is built on; the basis for any mitigation decision | $70 per kit before tax from one online seller; the Manitoba government says kits cost “between $50 and $100” |
| Library digital monitor | Three-week loan in Winnipeg and Regina | Screening only; a useful early warning | Free with a library card, but only in season (Winnipeg lends 1 Nov to 30 Apr) |
| Short-term screening by a professional | One Winnipeg firm offers a 15-minute screening | Screening only; “some insight” during a sale | One Winnipeg firm offers it free; another charges $50 for an in-person consultation |
A few practical notes on that table.
The library route is great if your deal happens in winter. If you’re closing in July, Winnipeg’s monitors aren’t lending, and Moose Jaw’s run 1 October to 1 April. Regina lends 30 kits on three-week loans with no renewals, so there may be a wait.
Where you put a long-term detector matters as much as which one you buy. Health Canada says the lowest lived-in level (a finished basement counts, a furnace room doesn’t), in the breathing zone at least 30 cm above the floor and 30 cm from the walls, away from the sump, vents, windows and heat. Our post on long-term vs short-term radon tests goes into the trade-offs.
If you plan to use a digital monitor as your long-term test, it should be one on C-NRPP’s approved list. And if you ever want to apply for grant money (more below), the long-term test has to be a C-NRPP certified one.
Three common sale-time situations
These are composites, not real clients. The numbers come from published sources, not from any job we did.
A 1962 bungalow in St. Vital with a finished basement bedroom. The buyers have a ten-day inspection condition and August possession. The inspector flags radon as “unknown.” Library monitors aren’t lending until November.
A long-term test can’t finish before closing anyway. The realistic plan: ask whether the sellers ever tested, consider a short-term screening for a first read, and budget.
Winnipeg installers advertise systems from about $1,500 to $3,000. After possession, start a long-term test in that basement bedroom so at least 91 days fall in the heating season. If it comes back under 200, they’ve spent the price of a kit. If it’s over, they already know the ballpark.
A library monitor reading 480 Bq/m3 in a Regina rec room. The sellers borrowed a monitor last winter, saw 480, and did nothing. Now they’re listing.
A three-week screening isn’t a long-term result, but they do know something. In Saskatchewan a property condition disclosure statement isn’t required, but sellers “must inform buyers about any defects known to the seller that would not be discovered by a reasonable inspection” (Public Legal Education Association of Saskatchewan). Whether a screening reading is that kind of defect is a question for their lawyer.
Their practical options are to disclose it, to run a proper long-term test, or to have a system installed before listing. A Regina installer quotes $2,500 to $3,500, with crawl spaces or multiple suction points costing more.
A Saskatoon two-storey sold with a radon condition in the offer. The buyer’s agent writes a radon condition. The seller agrees, a short-term screening comes back in the low hundreds, and both sides stare at it.
Among Saskatoon homes tested in the 2024 survey, roughly 1 in 6 were at or above 200 Bq/m3, so the result isn’t surprising either way.
There’s no published mitigation price for Saskatoon; the closest advertised figures are Winnipeg’s and Regina’s above, or Health Canada’s older national range of $2,000 to $3,000. How to word the condition, and whether a holdback makes sense, is for the realtors and lawyers. The buyer still needs a long-term test after moving in, because a screening can’t settle it.
If you’re selling a house with a radon result
Sellers tend to worry that a radon number will sink the sale. A number with no explanation attached probably does more damage than the number itself, so it pays to know where you stand.
No provincial rule we found requires you to test before selling in Manitoba or Saskatchewan. That doesn’t mean radon is irrelevant to the paperwork.
Manitoba’s Property Disclosure Statement is Appendix A to the residential offer to purchase, filled in “to the best of the seller’s knowledge.” We could not confirm whether the current form has a radon question, so ask your realtor. Health Canada also notes that real estate licensees have professional duties that include disclosing radon as a known latent defect to buyers.
If you’ve already had a system installed, keep the paperwork and the test results. Health Canada recommends a short-term test by a certified professional right after the system is switched on, then a long-term test in the same spot during the first heating season.
On newer homes, the inspector may point at a capped pipe in the basement floor. Since the National Building Code added it in 2010 (Manitoba adopted it on 1 April 2011), new houses get a subfloor depressurization rough-in, commonly a 100 mm pipe below the slab, sealed and labelled.
As the City of Regina’s building advisory puts it, “the depressurization rough-in does not actively reduce radon levels.” A 2015 Winnipeg build with a capped rough-in has had no radon reduction at all. It just means adding a fan and venting later is easier, assuming the pipe can be reached.
A 2013 study of Winnipeg Parade of Homes houses found “almost half are in inaccessible locations.” Our post on radon rough-ins in new homes explains what to look for.
If the radon test comes back high: cost and who does the work
Health Canada’s advice for a long-term result above 200 Bq/m3 is to fix it “within 1 year.” Below 200, it notes there is “no level that is considered risk free,” so lower is better, but there’s no deadline.
The usual fix is sub-slab depressurization: a pipe through the basement floor, a fan, and a discharge outside. Any sump pit has to be sealed.
It’s not a window you open or a fan in the basement; those don’t count as a fix. Health Canada recommends a C-NRPP certified mitigation professional, and certification belongs to the individual doing the job. You can check anyone’s name in the C-NRPP online directory. Certification is voluntary, since no province regulates radon professionals, so the directory check is worth the two minutes.
On price, Winnipeg installers advertise systems from about $1,500 to $3,000; a Regina installer quotes $2,500 to $3,500. Every house is different, and a crawl space, a finished basement ceiling or a slab that needs more than one suction point changes the number. Only a certified professional who has seen the house can quote it. Our radon mitigation cost page breaks down what drives it.
Money help exists, with conditions:
- Manitoba Hydro’s Home Energy Efficiency Loan covers radon mitigation up to $5,000 over 5 years at 6.2% (O.A.C.), paid on your energy bill, with no income test. The contractor must be C-NRPP certified.
- Lungs Matter (Canadian Lung Association, run in Manitoba by the Manitoba Lung Association) offers up to $1,500 for low- or moderate-income households. It needs a 90+ day C-NRPP test above 200 and a C-NRPP quote, it won’t pay for work already done, and funding is limited. See our Manitoba radon grants post.
- In Saskatchewan, Lung Saskatchewan has offered reimbursement in the past; check its site. Lung Saskatchewan also says radon mitigation counts as an eligible expense for the provincial Home Renovation Tax Credit; confirm with CRA.
- There is currently no federal radon tax credit that we could find.
For buyers, that “not for work already done” rule matters. If you might qualify for Lungs Matter, don’t let anyone install a system before you’ve applied.
If you have a long-term result over 200, or a seller has handed you one, call (204) 555-0173 or use the contact form to get a quote from a certified radon professional. We don’t do the work ourselves. We put you in touch with someone who does, and you decide from there.
Health Canada’s own guide to testing your home is short and worth reading before you commit to anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I get a radon test before buying a house?
It’s worth a screening if your dates allow, but know what it is. A short test during the condition period gives you a rough idea, not the long-term average the 200 Bq/m3 guideline is based on. Plan a long-term test of at least 91 days after you move in, in the lowest level you actually live in.
Can a seller refuse to do a radon test?
We found no Manitoba or Saskatchewan rule that requires a seller to test. A buyer can ask for a radon condition in the offer, and the seller can accept, counter or refuse. Your realtor or lawyer is the right person to advise on wording, holdbacks and disclosure.
Is a house with high radon a bad buy?
Not necessarily. High radon is common on the Prairies, and a sub-slab depressurization system installed by a certified professional usually brings it down. Winnipeg installers advertise systems from about $1,500 to $3,000, and a Regina installer quotes $2,500 to $3,500, so it’s a known cost rather than a mystery.
Does a radon rough-in pipe mean the house is protected?
No. The rough-in is a capped pipe under the slab, and as the City of Regina’s building advisory puts it, the rough-in “does not actively reduce radon levels.” A fan has to be added to make it work, and only a long-term test tells you whether the house needs one.