THERE were calls today for Communities Minister Ruth Kelly to resign following the last-minute climb down over Home Information Packs.

The Bolton West MP announced to the Commons yesterday that the controversial packs will now be phased in from August with four-bed family houses the first target.

It is the second government u-turn on the proposals which were supposed to speed up the lengthy and costly home buying process in England and Wales and follows sustained lobbying from parts of the industry to get them scrapped.

But the timing of the announcement - just nine days before the packs were due to become compulsory - infuriated agents who have invested thousands of pounds in preparing for their introduction. Jonathan Dines, who runs an agency in Prestwich fumed: "This has been ill-convceived and ill-planned and someone should take responsibility.

"I think the government has completely lost the plot now. HIPS were always unnecessary and unworkable but these changes make them laughable.

"Applying HIPS just to four-bedroomed houses is going to cause chaos. If a fourth upstairs room is used as a study or a storeroom will it be classed as a bedroom?

The government should accept they are never going to work and scrap them completely." His view was echoed by the Law Society, which has long lobbied for packs to be abandoned.

Deputy vice president Paul Marsh said: "The government has turned the whole process of HIPs into a farce. Why did they not listen to our concerns and meet with us months ago instead of waiting until days before implementation?"

Collapsed house sales cost consumers millions of pounds every week, with around a quarter of incomplete sales occurring after terms and conditions have been agreed.

Ministers have been looking at packs as a way of countering the problem since the Nineties. Under EU law, all houses must have an energy performance certificate by 2009.