The packs are meant to speed up the home buying process

On Tuesday, the House of Lords blocked an attempt to make the preparation of home information packs voluntary.

The packs, which will cost up to �600, are designed to speed up home buying by making sellers have a survey undertaken before putting their home up for sale.

Estate agents have warned that the expense of the packs could put people off trying to sell their home.

The Housing Bill is due to be given its third reading in the House of Lords in November and may become law early next year.

Time concerns

Under the proposed scheme, anyone selling their home, or estate agents acting on their behalf, would have to compile information and complete a basic survey of their property for potential buyers.

Billions could be wiped off the economy if these proposals go ahead unchanged Peter Bolton-King, National Association of Estate Agents

Some professional bodies representing lawyers and estate agents are sceptical about the packs' merits.

Their worries include concerns over the "shelf life" of the packs.

Certain parts of the proposed pack, such as local authority title searches and home condition reports, could be soon out of date, it is feared.

If a property is on the market for a long time, the vendor will have to fund the cost of updating the packs or take their home off the market.

More transparency

Peter Bolton-King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, warned that the costs of the packs could put large numbers of people off selling their homes.

For too long, estate agents have got away with providing misinformation about properties Emma Harrison, Which

"Billions could be wiped off the economy if these proposals go ahead unchanged," Mr Bolton-King said.

"The public has a fundamental right to market their homes, which the government cannot ignore."

However, Which, formerly known as the Consumers' Association, is a strong supporter of the packs, arguing that will increase transparency and cut the time it takes for a house sale to go through.