There has been mounting criticism of this legislation ever since it was first mooted in the form of the 'Sellers Pack' in the Homes Bill in 2000, writes Tony Booth.

More recently the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the Law Society, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and Trading Standards have all questioned why the government has been so insistent on pressing ahead for its planned introduction on 1st June - despite the legislation being clearly flawed, impractical and having been diluted through repeated changes and delays.

Ruth Kelly announced HIPs would be postponed to 1st August 2007 and they would only now apply to properties with four or more bedrooms.

The rest of the legislation will be phased in over an extended period.

The final blow came when opposition MP's applied pressure in the House of Commons and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) launched a formal legal challenge against the government's proposals.