Royal Bank of Scotland announced today it would give struggling homeowners at least six months breathing space before it launched repossession action.

But while the move was welcomed by housing charities, commentators dismissed it as being little more than a "marketing ploy".

Several major lenders also said they already waited at least this long before taking action, while it was also warned it would not always be in borrowers' best interests to delay proceedings for an additional three months.

RBS, which includes NatWest, said it was doubling the three-month period it currently offered to borrowers who fall behind with mortgage repayments.

The move comes just days after the Government bought 58% of the bank's shares for £15 billion - effectively bringing it under state control.

Housing charity Shelter welcomed the move, saying it was an important step towards helping thousands of people to keep their homes.

Shelter chief executive Adam Sampson said: "RBS has raised the bar for other lenders who must now follow suit to ensure that all homeowners benefit from the same protection from repossession."

But Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com, said: "I think this has been a fairly clever marketing ploy by RBS. It is all about spin.

"If you look at most lenders' policies, it is very rare for them to start repossession proceedings before then.

"What we would like to see is more priority given to active dialogue with borrowers."

She said many lenders did not have an in-house capability to deal with people who were in arrears, instead outsourcing it and charging customers for it.

But she added that from a borrower's point of view, the publicity surrounding the move may make people who were in difficulties talk to their lender sooner.

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, said: "I suspect that in practice this won't make a huge difference."

Britain's biggest mortgage lender Halifax said it was looking at the initiative, but added it already had a comprehensive programme in place for borrowers who got into financial difficulties.

Lloyds TSB said in general borrowers were at least six months in arrears before it began repossession action, adding that on average properties were not taken over until at least 12 months after payments were first missed.

Barclays' lending arm the Woolwich also said borrowers had to be several months in arrears before it started to take action.

Nationalised bank Northern Rock said on average homeowners were at least 15 months behind with payments before properties were repossessed, with less than 1% of repossessions happening when people were less than six months in arrears.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders also pointed out that it would not always be in borrowers' best interests to have the process delayed by three months.

When a property is repossessed by a lender it is sold and used to repay the outstanding mortgage debt.

But if insufficient funds are raised through the sale of the home, borrowers remain liable for the outstanding debt, with interest accruing on it until it has all been repaid.

In the current housing market, not only would delaying repossession for three additional months increase the level of arrears people were in, but their home would also be worth less due to house price falls.

A CML spokesman said: "The general approach that we have always advocated is that lenders allow for individual differences in circumstances and don't have a straight-jacket approach."

Repossession levels are increasing in the face of the economic downturn and rising unemployment, with 11,300 people losing their homes during the third quarter of the year, 12% more than during the previous three months.

The CML expects 45,000 homes to be repossessed during the whole of 2008, which would be the highest figure since 1995.

RBS has only a 7% share of the market and is not a large player in the sub-prime sector where many of the repossessions are taking place, suggesting today's pledge will have only a limited impact on the number of homes that are taken over.

But the other major lenders are still likely to come under Government pressure to do more to help struggling borrowers, with the Liberal Democrats today calling for all nationalised and part-nationalised banks to follow suit.

MPs are also reportedly working on plans for statutory codes of practice in the banking industry, which could replace the current voluntary system.

However, there are concerns that moves to reduce repossession levels could put further pressure on already beleaguered estate agents.

Some homes that are repossessed are sold by auction, but others are sold by estate agents in a bid to get the best possible price for a property.

With very few people currently putting their homes on the market, a fall in repossession numbers could reduce the number of sales estate agents are making even further.

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