“These are avoidable deaths,” Reyer said.
She also called it an equity issue, noting that a high percentage of renters are from communities that are already at greater health risk.
“We have an obligation to say all communities,
all people in the state, have a right to a safe and healthy home regardless of how old their housing
is or where they live,” she said.
Kyle Berndt, director of public policy at the Minnesota Multi Housing Association, opposes the bill, saying the 120-day deadline to install radon mitigation systems after a test shows elevated
radon levels is too short.
Some radon mitigation systems, he said, are simple, like air exchangers, but others — especially in multi-unit dwellings — can require elaborate, difficult-to-design systems.
He also has concerns about the cost, saying he knows of one large landlord who would have to pay $500,000 every five years to meet the testing provisions.
Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover), who owns rental properties, also objects to the financial burden the bill would put on landlords, calling it “a general piling on that housing providers are experiencing right now.”
Reyer said she is sensitive to the costs to landlords and is preparing an amendment that would appropriate money for a Health Department grant program to help landlords pay for radon mitigation.
Sen. Kari Dziedzic (DFL-Mpls) sponsors the companion bill, SF2345, which awaits action by the Senate Housing Finance and Policy Committee.
https://www.house.mn.gov/sessiondaily/Story/17219
Some radon mitigation systems, he said, are simple, like air exchangers, but others — especially in multi-unit dwellings — can require elaborate, difficult-to-design systems.
He also has concerns about the cost, saying he knows of one large landlord who would have to pay $500,000 every five years to meet the testing provisions.
Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover), who owns rental properties, also objects to the financial burden the bill would put on landlords, calling it “a general piling on that housing providers are experiencing right now.”
Reyer said she is sensitive to the costs to landlords and is preparing an amendment that would appropriate money for a Health Department grant program to help landlords pay for radon mitigation.
Sen. Kari Dziedzic (DFL-Mpls) sponsors the companion bill, SF2345, which awaits action by the Senate Housing Finance and Policy Committee.
v/sessiondaily/Story/17219
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