Recent claims made by the Tories that a Home Information Pack will cost vendors an additional £1,000 is misleading, and according to pro-Hip Mike Ockenden, is not only incorrect but intended to arouse unnecessary fear among consumers.

And the director general of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers also believes the government is to blame for the amount of misinformation being fed to the public. "It is up to the government to send out a clear message to the public, instead of allowing dissenters with their own vested interests to mislead the public," said Ockenden.

The cost of a pack is estimated by AHIPP to cost house sellers in the region of £700 but they are keen to emphasise that this is not an ‘additional’ cost.

The cost of a pack will not be payable up-front and the majority of sellers’ agents will produce the packs with any incurred costs being resolved after sale, in the same way as Estate Agent’s fees are paid. In addition, this cost may fall as a result of market competition.

When you offset the price of a pack with the current costs already incurred in buying or selling a property it is evident that packs will in fact prove cost neutral.

Ockenden commented, "There have been so many confused messages since the start of the Conservative campaign, it is impossible to understand what they really want. Initially they claimed the packs would disadvantage first time buyers, an assertion that is clearly unfounded as they are the very group that will benefit the most from the packs."

"Following this they called for the packs to be scrapped and now they are asking that they be delayed – do they actually know what they want?"

"The recent allegations are incredibly irresponsible on the behalf of the Tories who are scaremongering for their own cause. Hips will strongly benefit the consumer and it’s about time that this is recognised. The Department for Communities and Local Government needs to add their voice to tell consumers of the benefits of a Hip."

Packs will prove to be cost neutral:

• Currently one third of the cost of a pack is incurred by buyers procuring searches.
• One third of the cost of a pack will be offset by reduced costs currently associated with aborted transactions.
• One third of the cost of a pack is being spent on processing fees, particularly conveyancing and valuation fees, across the whole transaction.

Consumer benefits of Hips: 

• Hips will speed the time from offer to exchange and cause fewer house sales to fall through and cut down on gazumping.
• The home condition report will identify any faults in a house at the start of the transaction so appropriate action can be taken and nasty shocks avoided later down the line.
• First time buyers will be in an advantageous position because they will get a free home condition report as well as the searches and other information they would normally have had to pay for.
• The energy efficiency report will outline the energy costs involved in running a property and is included in the cost.
• The buyer will be able to trust the home condition report although it will be commissioned and paid for by the seller because the home inspector, who will carry out the inspections, has a duty of care to the seller, buyer and lender and will be stringently regulated and backed by professional indemnity insurance.
• Hips will cut down the number of properties that fail to sell because the whole sales/purchase process is being made more transparent.