The most serious concern is that the inclusion of a valuation in a pack handed to a potential buyer will send prices tumbling, as it will have to be squeezed so low in the current volatile market.

Home Reports were initially designed to overcome the cancer of the 'multiple survey', which forced young buyers in particular to commission survey after survey as they competed in price bidding wars.

However, the requirement to commission multiple surveys largely disappeared a few years ago so Home Reports are being introduced to solve a problem which no longer exists.

Many housing market professionals are particularly angry that, having sought advice from various sectors of the industry, ministers have closed their ears to the advice on offer and ploughed blindly on.

Mortgage adviser Fergus Macpherson at A1 Financial is so furious he has written to First Minister Alex Salmond accusing him of letting down the people of Scotland. The letter says : "It is almost unbelievable that politicians and civil servants, purporting to represent the people of this country, can have ploughed on with this unnecessary, unwanted, expensive and blindingly stupid piece of legislation.

"You wouldn't listen to surveyors, solicitors or focus groups but clung to the silliest argument that this is a shot in the arm for first time buyers.

"You will realise, too late of course, that to introduce legislation without removing your blinkers is the most uncommon act of stupidity."

Sue Calder, a partner at Pagan Osborne and secretary of the Edinburgh Conveyancers Forum, said: "Sellers are going to be in for a shock when they are asked to shell out £1,000 for something which in the current market may well have to be refreshed three months later.

"Indeed, although the reports are supposed to have a three-month shelf life, with prices so volatile a valuation may well not be valid well within three months."

From tomorrow, it will be unlawful to put a house on the market without first commissioning a Home Report at a cost of anything up to or more than £1,000. It will include a property questionnaire, providing information about its history and council tax band.

It will also include the controversial single survey which will put a value on the house or flat, and answer proscribed questions about its condition.

This survey would normally have to be redone if the house is still unsold three months after going onto the market. But with prices so uncertain many believe they will have to be redone much sooner. It will also have to recommend details of any repairs required and grade them according to seriousness.

It will also detail how energy efficient the home will be to run.

Some estate agents hope the Home Reports will kick start the market by bringing in a fresh glut of homes with good information about them. But others remain sceptical.

Sue Calder believes it may serve one useful purpose in getting the market going if it makes sellers more realistic about the value of their properties.

"A lot of sellers out there still think their properties are worth far more than they are, given that prices have fallen by some 15% to 20% over the past year."

But Macpherson isn't convinced, and believes that this will deter sellers.

He said: "At the moment you can put your house on the market for about £250. Now you can't dip your toe in it without the outlay of at the very least £500 for the home report, probably more. Plus the £250 on top. Why would anyone dip their toe in any more?"

Particularly badly hit could be anyone who loses their job and needs to sell in a hurry, especially if the Home Reports depress the market further. They could be penalised by a low valuation, and also be presented with a long list of repairs they must complete before the property is saleable.

Also penalised will be those in mortgage difficulties, who will not have the cash to pay for a Home Report and therefore may not be able to sell their way out of trouble.

As repossessions rise, the Government announced a three-month moratorium during which lenders should hold off repossession proceedings. However, this is largely meaningless as no large bank or building society would begin legal proceedings until the borrower is heading for 12 months' arrears.

It also confirmed that the Government would meet the interest repayments on mortgages up to £200,000 from January, after you have been unemployed for 13 weeks.

However, in order for your claim to be successful no one in your household must be working and the support only lasts for two years.

MFI questions
Thousands of families who ordered a new kitchen for Christmas will have been gutted by the news that MFI has called in the administrators, writes Teresa Hunter. They now face an uncertain wait over whether they will ever see their shiny new appliances.

The company is still operating under the guidance of joint administrators Phil Duffy, Geoff Bouchier and Paul Clark of MCR, which was appointed last week, but this is largely for the sale of display stock.

They have also embarked on a full review of customer orders and will be contacting them as soon as possible to advise them about whether individual orders will be fulfilled.

In the event that they are not, the hope is that any payments by cash, cheque and debit card will be refunded, while credit card payers are being advised to seek a refund from their credit card provider.

Worried customers will get short shrift from the store where they ordered their purchase as inquiries are being managed centrally.

To find out what is happening to your order, you will need to call the customer call centre on 01405 744 813 during office hours. Alternatively, e-mail customer.services@mfi.co.uk.