Solicitors, Charles Lucas & Marshall have cautiously welcomed draft regulations – announced yesterday (31 October) - which will see the introduction of Home Information Packs for the buying and selling of houses.

Neil Angel, head of CLM’s Residential Property team believes Home Information Packs (HIPS) should increase the speed of housing transactions.

“However, we do have concerns as to how this new legislation will be implemented and enforced,” he added. “Overall, they should help first time buyers but they will increase the seller's costs and could delay the initial marketing of a property."

At the moment more than a quarter of all house sales in the UK fall through after an offer has been accepted - nearly half because of the problems which emerge when surveys or valuation are carried out.

By providing crucial information at the beginning of the sales process, Home Information Packs should prevent waste and significantly cut the number of sales that fall through.

“The estimated total costs for an individual purchase are expected to be around the same or cheaper than at present, with some early costs switching from buyer to seller,” says Neil Angel.