A new Law Society task force this week issued a warning to solicitors not to rush into IT deals to provide home information packs (HIPs) - as the Home Information Pack Action Group (HIPAG) announced a partnership with stationery and legal software provider OyezStraker.

The HIPs task force, which was set up this month, will advise practitioners on how to prepare for the advent of the packs in 2007.


Law Society President Kevin Martin, who chairs the task force, said: 'The final regulations for the packs will not be laid before Parliament until the autumn, and the Society is engaged in discussions with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) about the detail of them.


'It is too early at this stage for solicitors to buy into any IT packages offering on-line preparation of HIPs, as there are still a number of unresolved issues relating to the way the process will work - for example, how the home condition reports will be produced.'


However, Rob Hailstone, founder of the HIPAG group, which now has 165 solicitor members, said: 'If we are not careful, post-2007 the major players in the property market will have total control over the market and the way conveyancing work is carried out. High street solicitors and independent estate agencies will be left behind if they do not join forces now.'


He added: 'We have a reasonable idea of what will be in the pack, and whatever comes out of the regulations, we can adapt.'


The task force is currently conducting seminars around the country to brief solicitors on the packs and likely IT requirements. It will issue recommendations for solicitor-led HIPs in the autumn.


The ODPM said this week that agreement has been reached to conduct a 'dry run' of HIPs next year, which will track a 'representative sample of transactions' from the point of enquiry through to completion. However, it is not yet clear whether this will be on a scale acceptable to those, such as Mr Martin, who have called for a full pilot to be carried out.