A STAGGERING 37,000 families face eviction across the region because of deep cuts to housing benefit – unless landlords agree to slash their rent.

In County Durham, almost 92 per cent of households claiming the benefit live in properties too expensive under the new rules which are designed to save £1.8bn for the taxpayer, new figures show.

More than eight out of ten claimants will also be hit in Darlington (87 per cent), Hartlepool (87.7 per cent), Redcar and Cleveland (86.3 per cent), Middlesbrough (83.8 per cent) and parts of North Yorkshire.

The Government has insisted the shake-up – which will slash weekly payments for a typical North-East home by nearly £10 – should force private landlords to cut rents.

But the British Property Federation, which represents landlords, said most simply could not afford a sudden dip in income – and would be forced to evict instead.

Liz Peace, the organisation’s chief executive, said: “Simply cutting allowances across the board will create ghettos if people suddenly have to move somewhere else.”

The only other option for benefit claimants will be to pay some rent themselves, difficult for those unemployed or in low-paid jobs.

The clampdown will dramatically cut the maximum payments of local housing allowance (LHA) claimed by tenants on housing benefit in private accommodation.

Instead of being capped at the “median rent” in the area concerned – about 50 per cent of the highest rent charged – it will be tagged to the lowest 30 per cent of rents, from next October.

Across the Teesside “rental market area”, the new weekly cap for a two-bedroom home will be about £94.82 – down £8.74 on the maximum available this month.

There will also be big cuts in the two-bedroom cap in Darlington (£88.60, down £9.21), in Sunderland (£100, down £9.32), and across most of North Yorkshire.

Now a detailed analysis, placed on the Department for Work and Pensions website, has revealed that one million families will be affected, including 37,270 in this region.

Last month, Benefits Minister Steve Webb told MPs: “What we can’t do is go on simply signing over a blank cheque to private landlords.”

But Helen Williams, assistant director at the National Housing Federation, said: “There’s a very real risk that these cuts will push hundreds of thousands of people into poverty, debt and even onto the streets if they end up being evicted.”