Residents evacuated by landlord in Billingham after inspection reveals fire safety issues

Mr Forest said it was unclear how long the task of making the building safe would take.

“We now know that this will not be a quick process, so we have taken the decision to offer those affected alternative accommodation, either permanently or temporarily, based on their specific needs,” he said.

Thirteen said it would cover all moving costs and provide accommodation, as well as 24/7 support lines.

“We appreciate this is unsettling for customers and we are doing everything we can to support [residents] to move,” Mr Forest said.

At the start of this year, Orbit confirmed it was investigating several blocks built by the same developer in Hastings after it was forced to evacuate 17 families from one building in the run-up to Christmas.

Residents were evacuated after a fire service inspection identified a number of serious fire safety issues.

Fire safety is uppermost in the minds of housing association staff in the wake of the final Grenfell Tower Inquiry report, which did not hold back in delivering criticism of the key players, from social housing providers to architects.

To date, up to 7,000 buildings that require remediation are not yet included in the government’s cladding safety scheme, Rushanara Ali, the building safety minister, said earlier this week.

“Counting the buildings we know about is not enough,” she said. “We estimate there are as many as 7,000 buildings that need remediation that have not yet applied for the cladding safety scheme.”

Ms Ali said the figure was a maximum estimate. “There may well be fewer, but those responsible for these buildings have no excuse for failing to apply and we will work with regulators to make sure they are identified.”