PLANS to change housing benefit could affect up to 70,000 in Yorkshire, the National Housing Federation (NHF) has warned.

The federation said families may be forced to leave their home under Government plans to encourage people to leave houses that are too large for them.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) intends to use the Welfare Reform Bill to reduce housing benefit for working-age tenants in “under-occupied” homes – even if they have lived there for decades.

The NHF claimed last week that households with one spare room will have their benefit cut by up to 15% and those with two or more by a quarter.

The DWP has suggested affected households should move to move to more appropriate accommodation, but Derek Long from the National Housing Federation said the changes could force people on to the streets.

He said: “The cuts are extremely harsh and could effectively compel thousands of people to lose their homes. Thousands of couples are no longer able to offer their grown-up children a room to stay in.”