London's largest public sector landlord has warned that Government housing policies could trigger an exodus of low income families from the capital.

Research by Southwark LBC ,which owns or manages 53,000 properties, has shown that at least 2,200 private sector tenants may have to leave the borough because of the coalition Government cuts to Local Housing Allowance (LHA).

Council leaders in the south of London are already bracing themselves for an influx of LHA claimants into their areas from other more expensive boroughs such as Westminster or Kensington and Chelsea looking for lower cost areas to live.

There are currently some 18,724 households on the housing waiting list in Southwark of which 12,570 are new applicants and 6,154 existing tenants looking for more suitable size properties.

This, together with an acute shortage of more affordable private rented accommodation, has increased pressure on housing in the borough with managers predicting a 25% increase in homelessness over the next year from 1,000 to 1,250.

Southwark council leader Peter John said: 'We have serious concerns over the impact of the coalition's housing policies.

'These reforms will only serve to increase insecurity felt by the most vulnerable, destabilise communities and force poorer people out of London.

'Many of the people who will be affected are in work but on low incomes and play an important role in keeping London's economy and public services going but if they are forced to move away they may be left with little choice but to give up their jobs and go elsewhere.'

Cooperation with other boroughs may help mitigate the impact of cuts to LHA and Cllr John said: ' We are working with Lewisham, Greenwich, Croydon, Bromley and Bexley to coordinate our efforts on how we can best prepare for the expected influx of low income families.

'We will do everything we can to protect families and vulnerable people at risk and the council is committed to lobbying the Government hard and to represent the needs of those residents who face an uncertain housing future,' he promised.