According to research by the coordinating body of councils in London, the coalition government's cuts in Housing Benefit could lead to 82,000 evictions in London alone.
From April 2011 the government will put a new overall cap on benefits payable, and will adjust the maximum benefit payable in each area to correspond to the rent which has 70% of flats or houses more expensive than it, 30% cheaper. (At present it is set at the rent which has 50% more expensive, 50% cheaper).
These moves will hit specially hard in inner London, where claimants congregate because of better chances of getting work but where rents are also high.
The report says: "Of the 106,000 claims affected, 77,000 will lose out by more than £10 a week, with over 36,000 households in the capital facing a shortfall of more than £20 a week and more than 10,500 households experiencing losses of more than £50 a week".
At the same time, private rents are rising at 5% a year (averaged over the whole country).
