Home seller pack chaos - seven weeks to go and 6,500 more 'inspectors' needed

From June 1, homesellers will be legally obliged to supply buyers with a property information pack, to include a newly devised energy-performance certificate awarded by a new army of inspectors.

But The Mail on Sunday has learned that so far only 1,000 of the inspectors have been trained - out of a target of 7,500.

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Experts fear that this shortfall will bring the housing market to a standstill as sellers queue to obtain the vital certificates.

And there were further warnings that the inspectors - and other suppliers of home pack information - will exploit the situation by charging exorbitant fees of up to £1,000.

These suspicions received dramatic new emphasis when it was revealed that the Minister in charge of introducing the Home Information Packs (HIPs) is due to speak at a training seminar for estate agents hoping to cash in on the new rules.

Housing Minister Yvette Cooper is to give the keynote address at the £60-a-head gathering where, in other lectures, delegates will be shown "how to make money from HIPs", later this month.

The packs will also include legal documentation and searches. But delegates' discussions will centre on the new energy assessors, who will scour homes for loft and cavity-wall insulation, double-glazing and energy-efficient light bulbs.

The theory is that buyers will then be able to "punish" energy-inefficient sellers by lowering the sum they offer.

There are various ways to obtain a HIP. Some vendors will get hold of the legal documents themselves and hire the energy inspector - called a Domestic Energy Assessor - to rate the property's environmental efficiency.

Others will employ an accredited Home Information Pack provider to do the work, and commission the energy inspector.

But only an official inspector can supply the energy-performance certificate.

Most vendors are expected to hand the entire task to their estate agent, leaving the firm considerable freedom to charge whatever it thinks is appropriate.

Even if the actual price of a HIP is as low as £400, the agent can charge the customer more by claiming to have offered a particularly speedy service or by telling the client that obtaining the documents involved extra work.

Mike Ockenden, director-general of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers, admitted last night that only 1,000 people had been trained as energy assessors - but he claimed that a further 2,200 would be ready by June 1.

When the Government announced plans for the packs, which it claims will "add transparency" to the process of buying and selling, it was estimated that 7,500 to 8,000 inspectors would be needed.

The burden placed on sellers by the packs, which will also include legal documentation, is now expected to throw the housing market into turmoil this summer - inducing a glut of homes on to the market in May, then a shortage in June.

There are also fears that the energy ratings could in time be linked to council-tax payments.

The Government has already suggested that 'green mortgages' with lower rates should be restricted to properties that fare well under the new energy-assessment scheme.

Kevin Martin, from the Law Society, which has described the Government's plans as ill-thought-out, costly and damaging, estimated that sellers desperate to put their homes on the market would be forced to pay at least £750 or face long delays.

"Barring a miracle, there will not be enough inspectors ready on June 1," he said.

"It means the inspectors, or the estate agents acting on their behalf, will see the opportunity to add a premium. There is no control over what they can charge."

A number of companies have been set up to take advantage of the need for homes to have HIPs and estate agents are preparing lists of freelance energy-assessors. Training for inspectors takes three to six months, at a cost of about £3,500.

Ms Cooper will be appearing at a one-day conference organised by the Association of Home Information Pack Providers alongside property expert Richard Rawlings, who will tell delegates at the Emirates Stadium in North London that the packs are a "tremendously powerful way of raising commission levels".

The event has fuelled concern that many estate agents will raise their charges as soon as the regulations come into force.

Tory housing spokesman Michael Gove said: "The Government has tried to tell us that HIPs will help the consumer. This revelation underlines that they will only add to the cost hard-pressed homebuyers face.

"Yvette Cooper faces an embarrassing choice - either admit HIPs won't help homebuyers or pull out of a conference designed to line the pockets of people prepared to exploit the consumer."

A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said some estate agents were already offering special deals that would save consumers money.

"It is ridiculous to suggest that because you attend a conference you necessarily agree with the views of every other person there," he said.

"The introduction of Home Information Packs and energy ratings of homes will cut costs by increasing competition and transparency in home buying and selling."