Estate agents are being contacted by a number of 'illegal' HIP providers, including several companies based offshore, as the HIPs market experiences its first wave of unregulated activity, warns Easy Convey.

Conveyancing experts are urging sellers and estate agents to use only qualified legal professionals when commissioning HIPs.

With Home Information Packs (HIPs) set to become compulsory from 1 June 2007, house sellers without an HIP will not legally be able to market a property after that date.

As a result, HIP production is already becoming a substantial - and largely unregulated - industry in its own right, according to conveyancing experts at Easy Convey.

It said estate agents are already being contacted by a number of self-proclaimed HIP providers, including several companies based offshore.

Dominic Cullis, managing director at E Convey, said: "Legal expertise should not be an optional extra when it comes to HIP production. Conveyancers have been undertaking all of the work required to piece together a HIP for many years, and therefore remain unmatched in terms of their experience of the processes involved.

"If an HIP is produced by an experienced legal professional, buyers can feel confident that the information provided is reliable."

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