A number of leading housebuilders are understood to have been shortlisted for the government’s £200m pilot competition to give private developers social housing grants.

It is also understood that the 31 shortlisted firms will not be required to submit another application to bid for the Housing Corporation’s £3.3bn two-year development programme, which was previously only open to housing associations.

The housebuilders include David Wilson Homes, Fairview, Mansell, Barratt, Taylor Woodrow and Lovell. A source from one of the bidders said: “The competition seems to have been going on forever, but hopefully now that we’ve got this far it’ll be worth it.”

Letters were sent to all the successful bidders from Steve Douglas, the corporation’s interim deputy chief executive, on 2 June. In his letter, Douglas asked for all the shortlisted bidders to submit detailed bids by mid-August and said there would be a “closed workshop” for them in the last week of this month to discuss the bid.

The corporation has also outlined what it will require from bidders selected for its £3.3bn, programme, which begins next April.

As expected housebuilders will be able to bid to become one of the 70 elite “development partners” that are allocated 80% of the money. Bidders will also be required to show they can contribute to the £300m savings the corporation hopes to make and meet the EcoHomes “very good” standard. The first stage of bidding is to complete a questionnaire by 7 July.