Plans to revolutionise house sales were thrown into chaos last night by the prospect of a last-minute legal challenge to controversial home information packs.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said it was seeking a judicial review over the packs, which aim to give buyers information on legal searches and energy efficiency. The flagship government scheme is due to come into force on June 1. RICS said that there were not enough inspectors to carry out the energy checks and that ministers had failed to consult properly on the proposals, which are to be debated in the House of Commons today.

The review could block the introduction of the packs, which were due to become compulsory for anyone selling a home next month. Ministers claim that the packs will cut weeks from the house purchase process and significantly reduce gazumping.

If the Government is forced by the court to postpone its plans, this will be the second U-turn on Hips; it was compelled to drop the home condition report in July last year.

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RICS claimed that there were not enough accredited inspectors to provide the required energy performance certificates and that local councils could not cope with the extra workload. A spokesman for RICS said: “Around 2.4 million houses are marketed every year. We have been told that there are just 80 inspectors ready to operate in London.”

From next month all homeowners putting their houses on the market will have to provide a Hip, estimated to cost between £150 to £300, which includes land and planning searches and a new energy performance certificate, grading a property on its energy efficiency. After an emergency briefing with MPs on Monday, RICS announced the judicial review early yesterday. It claimed the Government had only allowed eight weeks’ consultation instead of twelve and that thousands of energy assessors who will be visiting homes were not legally required to have criminal record checks.

Teresa Graham, chairman of the RICS regulatory board, said: “We have exhausted all the alternatives and greatly regret that we were left with no other option if we are to protect the public’s property interests.”

RICS fears that the housing market will collapse if Hips go ahead, as there will be a rush of sales before June 1 followed by a downturn as higher interest rates bite and potential sellers are put off by the packs.

Yesterday the Government insisted it would press ahead with the scheme. Ruth Kelly, the Communities Secretary, said that the judicial review would be vigorously opposed. Hanson falls to Germans, page 51

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