The new guidance demands design excellence, outlines minimum space standards and encourages housing developments to improve the connection with the local environment.

Developers must also understand the city’s unique character, heritage and scale, while ensuring good transport links and parking facilities.

Paul Beardmore, chief executive of Manchester Place, said: “Excellence in housing shouldn’t be luck, or for the fortunate few.

“If developers want to bring their business to Manchester, they need to buy into our vision for what housing can and should be in a modern, forward-looking city.

“This guidance should be seen as the absolute minimum in what we expect in the final product.”

The new document was shaped by a sounding board of experts, architects and housing professionals.

Other requirements listed include the need to encourage a sense of community, anticipation of the impacts of climate change and sufficient natural light.

Stephen Hodder, architect and chair of the Manchester Residential Quality Guidance Sounding Board, said: “From its inception, the guidance was pitched to push developers to excel, to deliver housing that residents will be proud of and to wholesale change the approach to new housing in the city.

“Prodigious home building should not mean a loss of quality, and through this guidance we hope to not only ensure that, but to push the boundaries of design for all new homes.”