David Field

We have been promised a revolution, and while this may not be on the scale of some of the more historical revolutions in history, such as the Russian or French, there remains an air of both anticipation and concern. Some people are beginning to lose their heads and you could be forgiven for thinking that the end of the property boom is nigh if you listen too long to some of the doom-merchants giving their views on Hips.

It is clear that Hips - Home Information Packs - are controversial. Some believe they can offer a panacea to the ills of the current property market - cracking down on unscrupulous sellers and giving the buyer the whip-hand in a sector where the seller traditionally holds substantial and disproportionate power. Indeed, some argue that they will ensure the buyer will no longer have to fork out large sums of money simply to find that a property is not worth buying at all.

But others are more concerned. Spiralling and unnecessary costs alongside a reluctance to sell are the twin fears that some believe could spell downfall for the housing sector's recent blossoming.

So what is all the fuss about?

Hips will come into force on June 1st this year and when they do, all sellers will be required to establish one of these packs to provide to any prospective buyer. It has been set down in law what these packs must contain and the idea is that it will prove a more effective way for buyers to purchase a property, because they will not have to fork out large sums of money having various surveys and other costly procedures carried out before going through with the deal.

One problem with the property buying process has been that people will spend a lot of money having various surveys carried out only to find the property is worth far less than the asking price or is in some way flawed, resulting in the buyer pulling out despite having spent considerable amounts on the property.

Hips are designed to end that unnecessary outlay and in theory this is clearly a good thing.

However, with less than 50 days to go to their implementation, there are still many people who object to the idea, arguing few buyers will trust a survey carried out by the current owner and will end up forking out for an independent one anyway. There is also the argument that property prices will be pushed up slightly as the cost of the Hip is tacked on to the overall price, meaning it will be the buyer who again loses out.

And a big problem is the fear that sellers are urgently trying to offload property ahead of the June deadline. Many fear there will be a considerable drop in the number of available properties on the market after June 1st, which could precipitate a property price crash.

However, one expert is taking a pragmatic approach to all the fuss. Lesley Sorridimi, head of business development at Hip Hip Hooray, said: "It's legislation now … and you won't have estate agents breaking the law.

"It's going to happen, we've got to do it and we are just going to have to get on with it."

In other words, c'est la vie!