New minimum standards should be introduced for the private rented sector and landlords should receive tax incentives for signing up to accreditation schemes, the Chartered Institute of Housing has said.

CIH made the calls in its budget submission to government.

The submission said more needs to be done to improve the quality of private homes across the board, including a new set of minimum standards for landlords which cover property conditions and housing management.

It also called for tax incentives for private landlords who sign up to an accreditation scheme and new measures to allow local authorities to enforce standards. And it calls for the regulation of letting agents to stamp out poor practice.

Gavin Smart, deputy chief executive of the CIH, said: “The private rented sector has grown considerably since the 1990s and is now the second largest tenure after home ownership. Though many landlords provide good quality housing, standards are highly inconsistent and at the lower end of the market they can be very poor."

CIH’s budget submission also asks for more funding to secure the development of new homes for affordable and social rent. That follows its projections last week that 250,000 homes for social rent will have been lost between 2012 and 2020.

And it calls for a reversal of the decision to lower the benefit cap, which its research revealed will hit 116,000 families across the UK.

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