More than 1,600 Scottish households will be affected by the lowering of the benefit cap, according to experts, who said those losing out would include women and children fleeing domestic violence.

The budget introduced restrictions to the tax breaks enjoyed by buy to let landlords, with measures which the chancellor said would create a more level playing field between those buying a home to let, and those who are buying a home to live in.

The chancellor will also insist that social landlords in England reduce their rents by one per cent a year, but it is unclear how this will affect Scotland where housing policy is devolved.

Shares in housebuilders, estate agents and buy to let lenders fell after the chancellor announced tax relief currently available to landlords of 40-45 per cent would be restricted to 20 per cent by April 2020.

Mr Osborne said he was heeding warnings from the Bank of England that the rapid growth in the buy to let market could risk the UK's financial stability.

He said the social housing sector was partly to blame for spiralling housing benefit bills. English housing associations warned the measure, as well as the right to buy policy south of the border would restrict their ability to build new homes.

The Chancellor also announced that people on higher incomes living in social housing will be required to pay rents at the market rate.

He said: "It's not fair that families earning over £40,000 in London, or £30,000 elsewhere, should have their rents subsidised by other working people."

Mary Taylor, chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations said the latest welfare cuts could be as damaging as the bedroom tax, particularly the reduction of the benefit cap to £20,000 a year outside of London when it had previously been £26,000.

She added: "The latest report from the DWP states that 800 households in Scotland are subject to the current benefit cap and reducing the cap is likely to more than double that number.

"Some of these households will be women and children fleeing domestic violence who are forced to live in temporary accommodation.

She added: "With housing devolved in Scotland there is no means to apply a national rent reduction, so it is difficulty to see how this will work in practice."

Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland said the decision to cut housing benefit for 18-21 year olds was shameful and criticised the lowering of the benefit cap. He said "Short-sighted cuts like this do nothing to fix the root cause of the housing benefit bill - which has grown due to the chronic shortage of affordable homes, a growing reliance on the private rented sector and sky-high rents. That's why the reduction in the benefit cap doesn't make sense as it will drive those affected by it out of their homes for not being able to pay their rent, in effect, clearing out people who rely on housing benefit from high rent areas."

Betsy Dillner, director of the private tenants organisation Generation Rent, said: "Landlords generous subsidies starve the public sector of money too build homes and fuel damaging speculation in property prices. We welcome the chancellors decision to unpick mortgage interest tax relief. But that's not enough: the government needs to plough those savings into a housebuilding programme and do much more to protect tenants."