The House of Lords Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee’s latest report questions whether Home Information Pack regulations will effectively achieve its objective.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive at the National Association of Estate Agents, said: “There are a number of flaws with the legislation that has led us to believe that it will not improve the home buying and selling process in the way the government suggests, and that in fact will have a serious and negative affect on the UK housing market.”

The report concludes that it has not been able to convince principle stakeholders in the housing market that the proposals will be effective for their declared purposes.

King said: “It is clear that the committee has serious concerns about the proposals and we would encourage the government to take this on board. The government has continually refused to take the advice of stakeholders on these matters. In its report, the Merits Committee expresses its concern over the fact the legislation has so little support from major stakeholders. The committee states that it ‘cannot overlook the doubts that have been widely expressed’.

However, Mike Ockenden, director general of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers, believes that the report has not presented a balanced and fair review by failing to obtain evidence from a number of industry players including AHIPP, COPSCO and environmental groups.

He said: “While its findings have been far from damning of the HIPs regulations, the committee’s failure to consult with major players in the industry has made it difficult to see how a truly balanced report can have been derived. As with any major reform there will always be an element of opposition within the industry but if the committee had successfully consulted with the full range of industry bodies involved, a number of the conclusions drawn may have been very different.

“In one month from now, HIPs is going to happen and the industry is ready. Home buyers and sellers can look forward to a less stressful process and further we can expect to see a considerable reduction in the carbon emissions from our homes, an issue which has to be paramount at this time of climate change”, concluded Ockenden.