THERE are just ten weeks to go before it becomes illegal to put a house up for sale without an up front Home Information Pack to hand to prospective buyers.

That is not good news for those opposed to the reform. They still maintain it is unworkable.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the National Association of Estate Agents, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and The Law Society - the heavyweights in the industry - have requested a group meeting with housing minister Yvette Cooper to hammer home their concerns but she has turned them down.

Here is why the estate agents believe the June 1 target date for the reforms should at best be postponed: The agents claim: There will not be sufficient numbers of qualified energy assessors.

After June 1, every home for sale will need to have been assessed for an energy rating before it can go on the market. When the law comes into force, 91,000 homes will be affected. The figure could rise to 153,000 by October if the property market follows its usual pattern.

Pack providers say: There will be enough assessors.

More than 2,500 people will be qualified by June, retorts Mike Ockenden, director general of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers.

Chris Rispin, managing director of one of the companies which trains inspectors, says his organisation has 300 assessors in training and all but two of the courses are full.

Lesley Sorridini of HIPHIPhorray.com says his company currently has 1,490 inspectors in training. He said: "By June we will have over 800 assessors and over 200 home inspectors who can carry out an energy performance certificate."

Roger Doddy of Habitus, another training company, comments: "I am sure we will have several hundred energy assessors qualifying. As a result we have offered any DEAs who complete their training with us a full time job."

The agents say: The results of the on-going trials being conducted in certain areas of the UK will not have been evaluated by the launch date.

No response from the pack providers on this point this week.

The agents claim: HIPS will lead to a housing stock shortage.

Pack providers reply: "The market impact will be minimal and shortlived.

"Any suggestion that HIPs will deter sellers because of the cost is frankly absurd. The average cost of a single transaction today runs to over £5,500 and a HIP with an energy performance certificate will increase this by less than £200."

The agents say: Prevention of first day marketing will remove spontaneity.

"Sellers won't be allowed to put their property on the market until certain elements of the HIP are completed or until 14 days have passed. A significant number of sales which currently make it through to completion are instigated by a seller just testing the water."

Pack providers say: "If only ten per cent of owners follow the energy saving guidelines suggested by inspectors, CO2 emissions could be reduced by 320,000 tonnes every year."

The agents say: The pack lacks a consumer-friendly legal summary.

"Without a summary explaining the meaning behind the legal documents in the pack, the consumer will be disadvantaged rather than advantaged."

No comment from the pack providers on this point this week.

The agents claim: There is no evidence the pack will prevent sales falling through.

"There is little evidence that sales fall through because of legal, title or search problems and as such there is absolutely no need to insist on this information being made available prior to a sale being agreed."

No comment from the providers on this point this week.

Parting shot from the opposition lobby: "Government claims that HIPs will speed up the house buying and selling process remain unsubstantiated due to the lack of a proper trial.

"Advances in e-conveyancing and electronic communication in general will make the need for HIPs redundant.

"The NAEA has continually expressed its eagerness to work with the Government in helping them achieve their policy objectives of improving the house buying and selling process. The Home Information Pack in its current format will not do this."