UK estate agents have welcomed the new coalition government’s decision to scrap home information packs (Hips).
Communities secretary Eric Pickles, who made the announcement alongside housing minister Grant Shapps, said that the packs had acted like a "drag anchor" on the residential property market and their suspension would "encourage sellers back into the market".
With Hips typically costing between £299 and £350, he added that the move would save UK homeowners around £870 million over the next decade.
Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), said: "For those of us who have weathered the turbulent market conditions of the past year, the suspension of Hips is very welcome news."
"It will be greeted enthusiastically by both the housing market and house buyers, few of whom have paid much attention to these pointless packs."
"The NAEA has long campaigned for Hips to be scrapped. They have failed to benefit home buyers and actively discouraged sellers," he added.
"We can confidently predict that an end to electoral uncertainty and the abolition of Hips will provide a substantial boost to the housing market."
Gillian Charlesworth, spokeswoman for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), said: "Hips have failed to address the significant problems in the home buying process they were originally supposed to tackle, and RICS is pleased that one of the first acts of the new Government has been to clearly show their intention to abolish them."
"Taking a swift decision will have minimised the impact on the market and ensured that estate agents who stick to the rules will not lose out."
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