The National Association of Estate Agents is making another argument against the government’s home information packs scheme (HIPs), due to come into force next year.

According to the NAEA, home owners who would never contemplate moving unless a certain property came onto the market may be stopped in their tracks once the new legislation comes in, because of the length of time it could take to put the HIP together.

Chief executive of the NAEA Peter Bolton King explained: "It’s a very common scenario indeed for people to have their hearts set on a certain property. Many of us have a home in mind about which we say to ourselves ‘If it ever comes on the market I will have a go at buying it.’"

"At the moment, if that for-sale board goes up then we are able to put our current home on sale straightaway, thereby lessening the chance of somebody else jumping in ahead of us. In the majority of cases, agents also offer a no-sale, no-charge agreement. As a result many people currently decide they have ‘nothing to lose by having a go’. Once HIPs come in, that will not be the case."

The government thinks the numbers of people in this situation is very small. Indeed, very little jumping ahead will happen as almost everybody is in the same boat anyway and there is nothing stopping people showing an interest before their own property is HIPed. Also, anyone who has his or her heart really badly set on a particular property will probably have made advances directly anyway.

However, Peter Bolton King said, "… the NAEA has found that large numbers of home sellers do actually start out this way, as what is known as ‘impulse sellers’. Once they see that the home they would like is for sale, they want their existing home marketed immediately and do their utmost to find a buyer to avoid losing the chance to purchase the home they want."

What’s more, points out Peter Bolton King, if they are pipped at the post by another house hunter, they will still have to pay the fee for their HIP, despite having been unsuccessful.

Under the new procedure, which will become mandatory from June 2007, the seller will have to provide home information packs that contain a variety of information on a property, ranging from legal documents to the condition of the home and its energy efficiency. It is estimated that, especially with leasehold properties, they may take up to 14 days to produce. During this time, the property cannot be marketed. This means no for-sale board, no advertising, no particulars and, most importantly, no viewings.

The NAEA has argued that HIPs will go out of date and so could be an expensive luxury to pre-prepare in anticipation of selling at an unknown date. However, most of the details in the pack will not be time critical and the HIP ‘lifetime’ situation is not resolved as yet. It maybe that people who are really intent will decide to pre-prepare their HIP and suffer the possible cost of updating the pack.

Peter Bolton King said: "Once HIPs are introduced, this method of selling will become impossible, as it will remove the level playing field, allowing other people who have already got their pack put together to jump in and make an offer."

"This could very feasibly stop people putting their homes on the market, especially when there is a potential £1,000 fee to consider. The implications of this are huge."