CHANGES to housing benefit could have disastrous results for elderly and vulnerable people in York, experts have warned.

A change to the way housing benefits work, and a cut in the maximum amount that will be paid, could leave scores of older people unable to pay their rent in extra care complexes, while help for homeless people could suffer as well.

The boss of York Housing Association has warned of a "perfect storm" of cuts that will put at risk the supported housing of hundreds of York’s elderly, disabled and vulnerable residents.

Chief executive Julia Histon said the impact of cuts to local authority funding, caps on housing benefit for supported housing like extra care, would be "devastating".

The threat is there because rent for supported housing - which includes extra care flats for older people, homes for people fleeing domestic abuse, or places with facilities for disabled people – is driven up by the cost of providing things like 24 hour site managers or wardens, and shared facilities like accessible bathing rooms.

However, as part of the last Government spending review, it was announced that housing benefit is to be capped with no exemption provided for people in supported housing.

Ms Histon said: "The impact of this will be devastating, as none of the providers of these much needed services– housing associations, specialist care and support providers like Mencap, Age UK and Women’s Aid to name a few – will receive any additional funding, so the services needed to support people to live independently will disappear, with devastating consequences.

"If this policy is implemented as it stands today, the majority of our supported housing may close by April 2018 – that is the stark reality facing all providers of supported housing."

The warning comes as City of York Council is moving focus from care homes and nursing homes to extra care to help people live in their own homes for longer.

The cap will only be enforced from April 2018, and applies to new tenancies not to people already in their homes. For "general needs" housing it will come in for everyone who signs a tenancy after April 2016, but last week the Government announced a one year delay for supporting housing meaning the cap will only apply to tenancies signed after April 2017.

Senior councillors responsible for supported housing schemes in York say that delay is letting the government review the proposals, in the light of concerns expressed by some in the housing sector.

They added: "Once the government announces its final intentions, the council will then be able to assess the future viability of supported housing schemes."

York Housing Association’s own estimates show they could be short of nearly £1.5 million in York properties alone, where additional services accounts for over 73 per cent of the "rent" on homes for the most vulnerable people.

The situation is even more extreme for people living with disabilities, Julia said.

"These packages of services enable people with severe physical disabilities to move out of hospital care and live in their own homes, albeit with a high level of care and support – and the cost of this is considerably lower than full time hospital care. Capping Housing Benefit to these vulnerable people will leave supported housing schemes financially unviable," she added.

The cuts will also affect projects like Arc Light, and leave it as "little more than a hostel providing beds" with extra help to tackling the root of the problem, Julia added.