Home Information Packs (HIPs), which residential conveyancing solicitors were required to check before they were abolished by the Government in May 2010, were not trusted by home buyers, according to independent research.

This extra layer of administration, which added to home-sellers's costs and to the work required by property lawyers, was obliged to include the standards of insulation in a property as well as details which were duplicated by the searches carried out by a solicitor, such as ownership of the title and local authority information.

The move by the new government was welcomed by property industry professionals working in England and Wales, including London and Brighton, especially as a means to cut costs and have more homes for sale.

The Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, said results of the research by Ipsos Mori showed the incoming government's decision to abolish the packs had been justified.

Compulsory provision of HIPs by home sellers was only in force for a year and axing the reports will reduce property conveyancing costs and has given a boost to the number of homes for sale coming on the market.

Although 90% of home-buyers did want information about a property's condition, they did not trust this information if it was offered by the seller. They would rather take advice from an independent surveyor or a tradesman whose opinion they trusted, such as a builder or plumber.

Mr Shapps said HIPs, with their extra cost and administration, were unwanted and that introducing them was a foolish way to try to improve the property market.

"In future this information will be provided on a strictly voluntary basis. We will allow the housing sector to develop products that include the information consumers actually want, and that they can rely on when buying a home," he said.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), which were part of the Home Information Packs, still do need to be provided by a seller by law before a property for sale or rent is marketed and definitely handed to the new owner or tenant before the contract is completed by a residential conveyancing solicitor.