Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps’ recent confirmation that he would scrap home information packs (HIPs) has re-ignited the debate over what should replace them.

Shapps said last week that removal of the controversial sellers’ packs would be his first task if the Conservatives win the next election, to bring more houses onto the market.

Richard Barnett, chairman of the Law Society’s conveyancing and land law committee, said the pledge would put pressure on the industry to come up with a better option. The Law Society is working on TransactionPlus, which would establish common conveyancing protocols and completion-ready packs containing all the information, including the legal information and contract, required for a transaction to complete.

David Pett, partner at Norwich firm Morgan Jones & Pett and HIP provider, said: ‘It would be a backward step to scrap HIPs – we’d go back to an antiquated system. If Shapps is determined to get rid of them he should take the good elements of the pack and use them as the basis for change.’

Nick Salmon, estate agent and founder of anti-HIP campaign group SPLINTA, said HIPs had made people realise that the old system was not so bad, and should be revived. He said HIPs have not made the process faster or prevented sales falling through, and have restricted the market by discouraging sellers from speculatively marketing properties.

But he said: ‘It is not incumbent on critics of the HIP to come up with an alternative. We know it’s not working and we know it’s got to go.’

Peter Rodd, chairman of the Law Society’s property section, said there is a risk that people may delay marketing their property in anticipation that HIPs will go. But he added: ‘The Tories, if elected, will have many priorities, and solicitors will have to continue to advise people to comply with the regulations until they cease to be law.’

David Kempster, managing director of MDA SearchFlow, added that no matter what the future holds, it is vital that high-quality property information remains a key priority for lawyers.