Bangor City Hall
262 Harlow Street, Bangor, ME 04401

Phone:
207.992.4200

Business Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:00AM - 4:30PM
Departments > Code Enforcement > Required Radon Testing for Multi-Family Homes > Required Radon Testing for Multi-Family Homes

Required Radon Testing for Multi-Family Homes

1. Landlords are to have testing done by March 1, 2014. State office is experiencing very high caller volume and is unable to answer them all as quickly as they would like. If you have any questions we suggest you visit the State Radon Program page on the web:

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/rad/radon/hp-radon.htm

There is a FAQ on that page that will answer many of the most common questions they get. Here is the link to the FAQ page:

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/rad/radon/radonfaq.htm  

If you are unable to find the answers to your questions, you can contact the program at 1-800-232-0842 in Maine, or 1-207-287-5698 out of Maine. Again due to the high volume of calls, they will most likely go to voice mail and will be responded to as time permits.

2. If as a tenants you have not received a copy of the report from your landlord, it is not up to the municipality to get into the middle of it. This is a Warranty of Habitability issue. “If a landlord or a person acting on behalf of a landlord does not provide the required radon notification, it is a breach of the implied warranty of fitness for human habitation in accordance with section 6021.” The tenant must bring the landlord to court as a civil infraction (again, not a Code Enforcement issue). The tenant can also hire someone to test the building but the issue of cost is something that has to be worked out between the landlord and tenant. Again this is a civil dispute and the municipality does not get in the middle of it.

3. Test kits are available for purchase at most hardware stores.

There are certain restrictions in the law that would prohibit a landlord from doing his or her own testing such as when buildings have elevator shafts or open pipe chases, if the building being heated with forced hot air or if it has a central air conditioning system. There are other reasons they would not be allowed to do their own testing and a landlord would be best served if he checks the law before proceeding to do his or her own testing.

4. Here is a link to the list of registered laboratories that are licensed to perform testing when landlords cannot do their own testing or would rather hire this work out to a professional:

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/rad/radon/ALMS%20search%20instructions.htm