With a waiting list in the many hundreds of people looking to have Home Reports undertaken, the company said it is ready to start work again on June 29.

Administrative staff will contact each household ahead of the visit to ensure that everyone is in good health. The surveyor will then ‘phone the homeowner to confirm that he or she is on their way, that everyone in the property remains well with no symptoms, and that no one has been self-isolating within the last 14 days. If so, the appointment will be re-arranged.

Surveyors have also been given a clear list of instructions to preserve everyone’s safety. “By communicating clearly with customers, they should feel assured that DM Hall can survey safely and support their move”, it says.

Every day, surveyors will check and confirm they have sufficient PPE: gloves, masks, hand gel, and paper towels for the survey, including plenty of spares.

Guidelines confirm that “should gloves have to be removed during a survey and you wish to wash your hands remember to ask permission and bring your own supply of paper towels. Do not bring your own reusable towel to use throughout the day and do not leave used paper towels in the house”.

DM Hall’s managing partner, Eric Curran, said: “We have adhered closely throughout the lockdown to government and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors guidelines. The only homes we have surveyed over the last three months have been uninhabited properties and, even then, only if we were informed of an essential or urgent requirement.

“There is, we believe, significant pent-up demand in the Scottish marketplace, and it is our role, acting within all published guidelines, to meet that demand now that we have been given the go-ahead.

“Our preparations have been extensive and highly detailed, and we eagerly await Monday 29 June when we will return safely to work.”