Ever since the government introduced Home Information Packs for all residential properties being marketed for sale in England and Wales there has been a great deal of unrest, not just amongst homeowners who do not want the expense of having to obtain an HIP to sell their home but also amongst officials from opposition parties. Labour Party officials have insisted that the packs are designed to improve property sales and make the transaction smoother, but the many critics, which include consumers, estate agency officials, and opposition parties, do not agree.

Some have even blamed the current housing downturn partly on the introduction of HIPS, claiming that the necessity to have the packs has put some people off selling. Officials from the Conservative Party have recently stated that the HIPs need to be scrapped altogether and as quickly as possible in order to try and boost the housing market, which is going downhill fast.

Officials from the party have said that there is a clause in the legislation that would allow these HIPs to be suspended immediately if the need arose.

One spokesperson for the Tory Party said: “If Gordon Brown genuinely wanted to help the beleaguered housing market, he would use his powers to suspend this harmful regulation and save homebuyers’ money. These little-known provisions to suspend Hips were introduced for a reason - to undo the regulations quickly if it all went wrong. The next Conservative government will scrap this unnecessary red tape completely, but a suspension now would deliver those benefits sooner rather than later.”

However, the Department for Communities and Local Government has said: “We have absolutely no plans to suspend HIPs. First-time buyers are also receiving the information in the HIP for free, helping to reduce costs for households looking to get on to the property ladder.”

It added: “It is widely acknowledged by experts that the current challenges are a result of global economic pressures also being experienced in the USA and other parts of Europe.”