Almost a quarter of the bidders for Housing Corporation grant allocations for the 2006-08 affordable housing programme are not registered social landlords.

For the first time the Housing Corporation’s largest development programme is being opened up to private sector bidders as well as housing associations.

Of the 110 bids for the National Affordable Housing Programme, 45 are from single bidders, 45% of which are not RSLs. Three bids came from special purpose vehicles established to bid for grant under the programme.

Jon Rouse, the chief executive of the Housing Corporation, said he was delighted with the interest shown by the non-RSLs.

The move to open the programme to the private sector follows the launch of a £200m pilot programme in February that attracted about 60 bidders. The winners of the pilot programme and the bidders who have made it to the second round in the NAHP will be announced in September.

The NAHP is expected to exceed the £3.3bn allocated by government in the last bidding round of 2004-06. It will provide more than 67,000 homes, 16,000 of them for key workers.