Scottish property sellers will now have to fund a thorough survey of their homes themselves before putting it on the market.

Scottish property sellers will now have to fund a thorough survey of their homes themselves before putting it on the market.

As part of the Scottish Executive's Housing Bill, single seller surveys will come into force in 2007.

It is hoped that this will deter sellers from deliberately setting their prices lower than the asking price as a ploy to get buyers to make higher bids.

Malcolm Chisholm, minister for communities, commented: "The current system cannot be right if most people make what may be the biggest purchase of their lives with only basic information about the condition of the property."

He added that the new legislation would also reduce the problem of costly multiple surveys.

The new scheme is the near equivalent to the home information packs that are to be introduced in England and Wales from June 1st 2007.