It is not a defect in the usual sense
Radon is not something a builder did wrong or an owner neglected. It is a function of the ground under the building and how the building interacts with it. A well-built, well-maintained, expensive house can have an elevated result, and frequently does.
That framing matters in a transaction, because it moves the conversation from blame to arithmetic. Mitigation is an established technique with a reasonably predictable cost, and the sensible question is who pays for it rather than whether the property is sound.
The timeline problem
The measurement Health Canada recommends takes three months. A conditional period takes days. These do not reconcile, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.
In practice that means short-term screening during a transaction, with an explicit understanding of what that result is and is not. An elevated screening result is a reason to negotiate an arrangement for long-term testing after possession — and, where warranted, for who bears the mitigation cost — rather than a reason to collapse a deal or to demand immediate remediation on a number that was never designed to support that decision.
Where a vacancy changes things
Properties that sit empty before or during a sale have an option most transactions do not. An estate property in probate, a listing that has been empty since the owners relocated, or an investment property between tenants can all accommodate a proper long-term test, because the three months are available and nobody is living around the device.
For an estate in particular this is worth considering, because the alternative is passing an unknown to a buyer and discovering it during their conditional period at the worst possible moment in the sale.
What we do and do not do here
VacantHomes.ca coordinates testing with certified professionals and attends for placement and retrieval. It does not measure radon, interpret results, advise on health implications, or offer any opinion on how a result should affect the value, marketing or negotiation of a property.
That last one is a real boundary rather than a formality. Opinions on price and condition in a transaction belong to the Realtor and, where relevant, a qualified appraiser or inspector.