THE new benefits cap will hit nearly 18,000 families across the South East – the Chartered Institute of Housing has warned.

The lower overall benefit cap came into effect from November 7 and limits the total amount of benefits a household can receive from £26,000 to £23,000 in London and £20,000 outside of London.

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has conducted new research which shows the cap will hit 116,000 families across the social rented and private rented sectors in Great Britain, the vast majority of which are two and three-children families, by up to £115 a week. More than 300,000 children live in these households.

The South East is set to be the worst hit region outside of London according to the research - with 17,676 families affected, including 8,846 with two children and 7,100 with one.

CIH chief executive Terrie Alafat said the new cap could put many families at serious risk of losing their homes and render housing in significant parts of the country unaffordable for those affected.

She said: “The results of our research are extremely worrying. It shows that the reduction in total benefits is going to hit some of the most vulnerable families of all sizes across England, Scotland and Wales.

“These families will lose out when the cap comes into effect from November 7 and in many cases will straight away face a substantial gap between their rent and the help they receive to pay for their housing.

“Worryingly, our analysis shows many families could be one redundancy or a period of ill health away from being in this situation.

“We are seriously concerned that this could have a severe impact on these families, make housing in large sections of the country unaffordable and risk worsening what is already a growing homelessness problem.

“This is a measure which seriously risks undermining the government’s commitment to make society fairer for families in Great Britain and we suggest that they look at this urgently.”