The Campaign to Protect Rural England has launched a new charter in reaction to what it says is a "bleak" outlook for thousands of families in need of lower cost accommodation.
And it has been backed by north Northumberland's prospective Conservative MP, Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
She said: "According to CPRE statistics, we now have over 700,000 people stuck on waiting lists for affordable housing across the UK.
"As I talk to people week by week on the doorstep, I hear just how difficult it is – in fact, with the present financial credit crunch, just about impossible – to get access to affordable housing.
"Families are having to cope in difficult living conditions with several generations sharing a single dwelling."
This week Mrs Trevelyan lobbied Eric Pickles, Shadow Minister for Communities, at the Conservative Party Conference.
She added: "He gave me a strong assurance that the next Conservative government would redress the imbalances of urban and rural funding.
"I will continue to lobby Shadow Ministers to ensure that this is right at the top of the agenda after the next General Election."
Alnwick District Council has already attempted to address the issue by insisting that developers include a proportion of affordable homes in their applications.
It has also launched an affordable housing register.
But figures released by the Federation and CPRE show that the proportion of homeless households in rural areas has more than doubled over the last five years from 16 per cent to 37 per cent of the national total.
Federation chief executive David Orr said: "The rural housing crisis is intensifying rapidly, with more and more people being priced out of the market and having to live in cramped and unsuitable conditions.
"Without urgent action by ministers many of our villages are in danger of becoming the preserve of the rich and weekend playgrounds for second home owners, with schools, pubs and post offices at risk of closing because of a lack of customers.
CPRE chief executive Shaun Spiers said: "Unless action is taken now to provide the affordable homes we need the future looks bleak for many people and their communities in the countryside."