New government proposals could bring rural landowners into the centre of the search for affordable housing in the countryside.

Although the job of procuring land for housing associations might appear easier in less developed rural areas, away from the congested geography of the city, it is often much more difficult. Whereas urban land is often open to redevelopment offers or is regulated by municipal authorities, rural landowners have a greater amount of discretion and can be more conservative with their property.

To overcome this challenge a new consultation on encouraging landowners into providing property for housing suggests that they could be given a range of incentives in exchange for land.

If a landowner puts forward property for development through a grant or a housing association proposal, then they could receive the power to refer people for available homes.

In the interest of encouraging landowners to work more closely with those in housing association positions, the document would give them referral rights for as long as the housing remains available in perpetuity. Although the proposed system would be managed by the housing association itself, owners would be given the right to refer family members or employees for a percentage of the homes built on their land.

Under this proposal the landowners would also retain the freehold to the property. Housing associations would either pay a one-off charge for the lease or an annual ground rent.

Housing minister John Healey said that a "lack of affordable housing in the countryside can be a real problem for rural communities".

"That's why we are determined to help young families find homes they can afford where they want to live, and help rural businesses recruit and retain local staff who will not be priced out of the countryside."

£1 million in Government funding has also been pledged by the ministry of housing to help provide advice for rural towns and villages in developing strong local public sector housing.