Ninety per cent of house buyers are ignoring the Government’s Home Information Packs when they are shown properties for sale. Sunday Telegraph

A survey of prospective buyers at 230 estate agencies found that only 10% asked to see the HIP for a property in which they expressed an interest.

Critics of the packs said the findings showed that the packs were “irrelevant” and “worthless” to consumers.

Stephen Nation, the head of professional services at Haart Estate Agents, which conducted the research, said: “HIPs are completely unworkable and home buyers are clearly choosing to ignore them as irrelevant.”

Peter Bolton King, the chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, said that the findings were “concrete proof that the house-buying public are rejecting pointless legislation”.

“There is nothing in the packs that helps them make a more informed choice about buying a house,” he said.