HOUSE sellers in the town are facing confusion after Government minister Ruth Kelly delayed the launch of Home Information Packs.

The Communities minister, told the House of Commons that a reduced scheme would now start on August 1 - two months after the project was supposed to begin.

A lack of assessors means only houses with four bedrooms or more will need packs.

The idea is that homes put up for sale in England and Wales will have to have a pack, costing at least £300, with title deeds and an energy performance certificate.

Energy performance certificates would give sellers and buyers information on the property's energy efficiency, as well as tips on how it could be improved.

They would also ensure the UK complies with an EU directive which comes into force in 2009.

Chartered surveyor Jim Dutch, of Straker Goodman Ingram's survey department, said: "This decision by Ruth Kelly is bound to be perplexing for anyone who is thinking of selling their home, because the Government have made yet another U-turn and left vendors in limbo over Home Information Packs.

"At first HIPS were going to have to contain Home Condition Reports, and then the Government dropped that but said that anyone selling a house after June 1 would have to get an Energy Performance Certificate.

"Now, just days before that was due to take place, there's more confusion again about what vendors are going to be required to do.

"Buying and selling property can be stressful enough at the best of times, and it's very frustrating not to be able to tell our clients what their legal responsibilities are going to be from week to week."

Straker Goodman Ingram have recruited a team of six domestic energy assessors to issue Energy Performance Certificates, and if and when HIPs become mandatory will be offering them at no cost to vendors who engage them as sole agents.

The launch delay was caused in part by a legal challenge from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which said there had been a lack of proper consultation on the packs.