Developer Bars Radon Testing by Home Buyers : Houses: A builder of Oak Park and Camarillo houses also requires a disclaimer freeing it from liability if the carcinogen is detected after the sale.

A major Southern California developer selling nearly 1,000 new houses in the Oak Park and Camarillo areas is prohibiting potential customers from testing for radon gas before closing their house purchases.

Pardee Construction Co. is also requiring all California customers to sign a contract agreeing not to hold the company responsible if the cancer-causing gas is found after the sale is completed.

According to officials with the California Department of Real Estate, Pardee is the first major California developer to place such restraints on potential buyers since the radon gas danger was revealed two years ago.

And, as state health officials continue studying the radioactive gas, state officials say, the number of developers asking customers to sign radon disclaimers is expected to rise, especially in Ventura County, where the highest levels of the hazardous substance in the state have been identified.

In the first statewide residential radon study, state researchers monitored 385 houses in California, including 15 in Ventura County.

On a statewide basis, only 1% of all the houses surveyed exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended maximum radon concentration of 4 picocuries per liter.

But in Ventura County, it is estimated that between 10% and 15% of the houses could exceed that level. That estimate is based on sampling 15 houses over a 12-month period.

Using standard statistical techniques, researchers say they are able to extrapolate the results from relatively small samples and apply them to larger numbers with a fair degree of accuracy to statewide numbers.

A more extensive yearlong survey of 1,000 homes in the Ventura region is scheduled to be completed by the state in June.

The gas, which seeps up from the ground, is believed to be the second leading cause of lung cancer in the nation.

Bernie Yantz, Pardee’s assistant vice president of California sales, said his company began asking customers to sign the radon disclaimers about a year ago after an East Coast developer was sued by a homeowner.

“We may be a little extra cautious,” Yantz said. “It’s an extra step we’re taking to protect ourselves.”

Yantz said the company does not test for radon and has no knowledge of it at any of its housing sites, which are scattered throughout the state.

If customers refuse to sign the radon agreement, Pardee will not sell them the home, Yantz said.

“We have every right to dictate our terms,” Yantz said. “So far the disclaimer has not hurt us.”

Pardee’s Ventura County developments requiring customers to sign the contract include the Capri subdivision on Lindero Canyon Road in Oak Park, and the Montelena and Fairfield subdivisions in Camarillo, near Santa Rosa Road.

Although Yantz said no one has challenged Pardee’s radon disclaimer in court, lawyers with the state Department of Real Estate, the state attorney general’s office and the California Assn. of Realtors all questioned the validity of the contracts.

“It seems unreasonable for the developer to say, ‘I won’t test for radon and you can’t test, but if you find it later, I won’t be held liable,’ ” said Gail Ruderman Feuer, a deputy attorney general. “We need to look at it further.”

Barry Barfield, an attorney with the California Assn. of Realtors, agreed.

“This could open up a brand new area of law” and set a state precedent, Barfield said.

There are now no state guidelines dealing with radon disclaimers, said Martin Dingman, an attorney for the state Department of Real Estate.

“No one is looking at what documents are being presented to the purchaser,” Dingman said. But Dingman said that might soon change, especially if more California developers follow Pardee’s lead.

In the meantime, Les Bettencourt, a managing deputy commissioner with the Department of Real Estate, said he would discourage buyers from signing the contracts.

“I would have a problem with it,” Bettencourt said. “The consumers should be allowed to test for radon. It’s almost like the developer is saying, ‘Hey, we know there’s a problem, but we don’t want you to find out about it.’ ”

But Jim O’Brien, vice president of operations for another developer, Pacifica Corp., said he believes that developers have the right to prohibit customers from conducting radon tests.

“It’s like making an alteration to a house before it’s yours,” O’Brien said. “As for the liability, that should be decided by the courts.”

Nevertheless, Charles H. Fedalen, a vice president and general counsel for Griffin Homes, which is building several developments in east Ventura County, said a commission should be formed to study the issue.

“The whole issue has been haphazard,” said Fedalen, whose company does not require customers to sign radon disclaimer forms. “This is a new area. We should have a united policy on the thing, and it should be for the benefit of the consumer.”

Times staff writer Larry B. Stammer contributed to this story.

RADON TESTS BARRED: A developer of houses in Camarillo and Oak Park refuses to let prospective home buyers test for the carcinogenic gas. B1

LEVELS STUDIED: A statewide survey finds that the carcinogenic gas is present in low levels in most California homes and that only 1% of dwellings have levels considered unsafe. A3