HIP rules 'will hit housing recovery'

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The Conservatives warned that the requirement to have a pack, rather than just to order one, before putting a home up for sale would hit the property market.

Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said: "HIPs have already harmed the market and discouraged sellers, and now Gordon Brown is making it even worse."

Housing minister Margaret Beckett has already reformed HIPs by adding a questionnaire covering issues such as flood risk, car parking, planning permission, service charges, gas and electricity safety and structural damage.

Mr Shapps warned today that the questionnaire, to be completed by the seller, could lead to a wave of legal action.

Unscrupulous sellers would also be able to sidestep difficult questions to avoid lowering the asking price by ticking a "don't know" box, he said.

"Property information questionnaires are not worth the paper they are written on, and will create a bonanza for buyers' lawyers to start suing sellers," Mr Shapps said.

"These changes will make buying and selling your home even more of a legal minefield and even more stressful," he added.

Figures published yesterday showed house prices are rising for the first time in 17 months, by 0.9 per cent.

Mrs Beckett has admitted that HIPs need to be made to work better and that they were opposed by major players in the property market, including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

The Conservatives have vowed to scrap the packs if they win power and today warned that home sellers risked being fined £200 if they put up a for sale sign before having a HIP.

Government research has shown that the packs have hit the property market, delaying some people from putting their home up for sale, but ministers insist they speed up sales.