The home information pack, (HIP) is a key part of the draft Housing Bill, which aims to improve standards in private sector housing and the government hopes the pack will reduce the average time between agreement and completion of residential property sales.

Much resistance to the bill and in particular to the HIP has been voiced by estate agents and others in the industry who are worried that the housing market (and their businesses) will be adversely affected should the bill prove unworkable.

The intense lobbying has clearly made its mark on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Select Committee reporting on the draft bill. MPs on the committee said it was worrying that witnesses have highlighted so many potential problems with implementation of the home information pack and said they felt it had not been tested widely enough for professionals to feel confident about its effects.

Andrew Bennett, chairman of the committee, said while the draft bill contained some "good ideas" more work need was needed on the packs before it received a second reading.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported that it agrees with findings from the committee and said that it shares a number of outstanding concerns:

• The Home Information Pack has not been adequately piloted.
• The impact of HIPs on the market is unclear.
• Will Home Inspectors have adequate professional indemnity insurance?
• How will the pack work in low demand areas?

Others have outlined further potential problems to be addressed:

• Will there be enough home inspectors to produce the packs by the time they become compulsory?
• Will buyers be able to trust the home condition report?

Michael Coogan, CML Director General, commented:

"This report gets right to the heart of the areas that the Government urgently needs to address if HIPs are going to work.”

“The CML and others have been warning for some time how important it is to iron out these problems before rolling out the legislation. Hopefully, the Select Committee report will now encourage the Government to work through the problem areas before introducing the Housing Bill into Parliament."