As MPs vote on loosening planning rules for private homes, RIBA warns social housing review could result in people living without enough space or light

Leading architects have warned that the next generation of homeowners may be forced to live without enough space or light under a government plan to loosen regulations on the quality of new housing estates.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) said a ministerial review of standards, including building regulations, room sizes and energy efficiency, could "give the go-ahead for builders to produce another generation of poor-quality homes".

Minimum space rules for new social housing for the poorest people are part of the review, which is due to be passed to ministers in the coming weeks.

The warning comes before a Commons vote on Tuesday on a coalition policy to loosen planning rules to allow private homeowners who can afford it to put up extensions of up to eight metres without seeking permission. It is facing a rebellion on the issue from Tory MPs, including Zac Goldsmith, who told the Today programme on Tuesday it would "guarantee disputes between neighbours … and seems like bad, clumsy politics".

The shadow communities secretary, Hilary Benn, described it as an "ill-conceived scheme to allow unregulated and potentially unsightly development without scrutiny".

The government claims both moves will boost the construction industry.

It is poised to cut red tape around housing standards to "free up developers and councils to get on with the job of building". Opponents fear it could exacerbate the phenomenon of "rabbit-hutch Britain" – the average UK home is already smaller than one in France, Spain, Ireland, Denmark, Australia or the US.

Don Foster, the communities minister, announced the reform of housing standards late last year "to remove unnecessary burdens and bureaucracy imposed on developers to get much-needed new homes built, and support economic growth". He said the purpose was to "establish what the unnecessary measures are that we can cut out of the system".

"The country is in the grip of the worst housing crisis in decades and there is an urgent need to provide more affordable, quality homes," said Angela Brady, president of RIBA. "In their rush to build, the government must avoid the temptation to reduce current standards."

Social housing built using government money is currently subject to mandatory space standards to ensure sufficient room for family life, furniture and household equipment.

The government's Homes and Communities Agency, which is spending £4.5bn to fund 150,000 new social housing units, confirmed that the minimum space rules it uses are part of the review.

In London, all new housing funded through public or private money has to meet minimum sizes. A one-bedroom flat for two people must have at least 50 sq metres of internal floor area, while a three-bedroom house occupied by five people needs 96 sq metres. Across the rest of the country private houses can be of any size.

On Monday night RIBA published a survey showing 80% of the population support minimum space standards for homes. The Ipsos Mori poll of 700 people revealed that high energy bills as well as lack of space and natural light are the most cited causes of dissatisfaction with current homes. It has also launched a campaign to urge ministers to maintain rules on housing standards which is being backed by Kevin McCloud and Alain de Botton, the TV presenter and author who have both become housing developers.

"There is almost no political issue more important than the quality of where we live," said De Botton. "For too long, house builders have been conning the public into buying hugely overpriced rubbish, the architectural equivalent of the turkey twizzler."

A 2009 survey of attitudes towards new homes found that 58% of people living in fully occupied homes said there was not enough space for furniture they owned or would like to own, and 69% said there was not enough storage for their possessions.

"The setting of space standards in new housing is one of a range of issues being considered as part of the housing standards review," said a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government. "The government is determined to support developers and councils to get on with the job of building the high-quality new homes the country needs."

Britain's biggest housebuilders have been asked to submit ideas for simplifying the system.

"We are opposed to space standards," said Steve Turner, a spokesman for the Home Builders Federation, the lobby group which represents Barratt Homes, Taylor Wimpey and others. "The objective of all this is to cut red tape and reduce standards, not the other way round. If you increase space standards it takes more land; that will increase the cost of the housing and will reduce the number of people that can afford it."