The introduction of Home Information Packs continue to split the housing market.

HIPs will have little impact on the number of property sales that fall through, campaign group Splinta - Sellers Pack Law Is Not The Answer - claims.

But, according to a new Which? book, Buy, Sell and Move House, not only are HIPs going to make buying property easier and quicker, they're also going to save consumers money.

The packs are being introduced in June next year in a bid to reduce the near £1 million a day the Government estimates is wasted as a result of sales falling through at a late stage.

They will contain title deeds, local authority searches and a home condition report, and it is estimated they will cost an average of £635 each, rising to £1,000 for certain properties and locations.

However, Splinta says the packs will have had no effect in the majority of cases where a transaction collapses.

The group, which analysed 1,870 property transactions set up during February, said in only a minority of cases could a sale have been saved by one of the packs.

Nick Salmon, of Splinta, said: "The Government thinks that HIPs will make property buying a more certain process, but this survey points to the fact that they won't.

"Taken together the main cause of failed transactions is a change in the circumstances of the buyer or seller and you can't legislate for that.

"The HIP will cost home sellers £1,000, yet give little more certainty in the process than at present."

He urged the Government to carry out more extensive research on the packs before introducing them.

But Which?, part of the Consumers' Association, an organisation never shy of criticising the Government, backs HIPs. It says their introduction is going to make buying property easier and quicker, while saving people money.

"At present, many buyers without a survey get a nasty shock when they discover their new property is in need of repair.

"The HIP is designed to make the whole process clearer: sellers and buyers will have more information about the property they are negotiating over at an earlier stage."