Home-sellers packs could cost �1,000

The Commons on Monday overturned peers' attempts to make the Home Information Packs only voluntary.

The Housing Bill is aimed at stopping homes being marketed without the pre-sale packs of surveys and reports.

These, say ministers, would speed up sales and make the process smoother. The Tories say the packs, which could cost up to �1,000, are ill-conceived.

'Nice little earner'

Housing Minister Keith Hill told MPs on Monday that the government was determined to give consumers a real chance of change and it could not be done through voluntarism and good will alone.

The real facts were that the current sales system was not working properly.

"Hundreds of thousands of people every year are put through the wringer because of the inadequacies of the current system," he said.

Hundreds of thousands of people every year are put through the wringer because of the inadequacies of the current system Keith Hill Housing Minister

The cost of aborted sales talks were "nice little earner" for some people but could not be afforded by hard-working families, said Mr Hill.

He argued that if the packs were made voluntary, sales chains could be disrupted if one seller did not use them.

'Poll tax'

Mr Hill promised the new system would not be introduced until it was absolutely clear it would work.

The packs could cost home sellers up to �1,000 including a compulsory energy audit of the house.

Last week's Tory amendment making the packs voluntary was supported by a coalition of Conservative, Liberal Democrat and cross-bench peers. Voting was 179 votes to 132.

Monday's MPs' vote means the Bill will now return to the Lords.

Conservative shadow housing minister John Hayes said there was no popular demand for the packs, nor had mortgage lenders guaranteed they would replace their surveys.

He suggested the packs could go out-of-date within three months, adding costs to people who had to withdraw their homes from the market.

And he predicted people would be suspicious about the packs and still want to commission their own survey.

"Why if these packs are such a good idea, does the government not trust the people and allow them to decide whether they want them or not," added Mr Hayes.

Expensive mistake?

Liberal Democrat spokesman Ed Davey said the packs plan was a "gamble" and there was a real risk of the housing market grinding to a halt in some places and sales costs rising.

There was no demand for compulsion and it could prove a "very costly mistake," he said.

At the moment agents start marketing immediately they have confirmed their terms and the property details are approved.

They instantly put up sale boards, text buyers, place advertisements on the internet and make telephone calls to "red hot" applicants.

Local authority searches, property surveys and inspections only take place once an offer is made on a property and the costs are currently borne by the prospective buyer.

But Which?, formerly known as the Consumers' Association, has argued the packs would increase transparency and cut the time it takes for a house sale to go through.