Around £200m will be made available to remove and replace unsafe aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding from 166 privately owned high-rise buildings.

Following the Grenfell Tower fire, the government identified 176 private high-rise residential buildings with unsafe ACM cladding.

Only ten of those buildings have completed work to replace cladding as the majority of private building owners failed to take action and tried to offload costs onto leaseholders.

Prime Minister, Theresa May said: “We’ve seen a number of private building owners doing the right thing and taking responsibility, but unfortunately too many are continuing to pass on the costs of removal and replacement to leaseholders.

“Today I can confirm we will now be fully funding the replacement of cladding on high-rise private residential buildings so residents can feel confident they are secure in their homes.”

The government has already fully funded re-cladding on social housing developments.

It said building owners will have three months to access the new fund and “we will look carefully at those who fail to remediate and consider what further action can be taken.”

Communities Secretary James Brokenshire MP, said: “Although temporary measures are in place to ensure people living in these buildings are safe, too many owners are treating this as a permanent fix.

“Others are trying to pass on the costs to residents by threatening them with bills running to thousands of pounds.

“I am now calling time on the delay tactics of others. If these reckless building owners won’t act, the government will.”

Building owners and developers who have already fully funded the remediation of buildings are Pemberstone, Aberdeen Asset Management, Barratt Developments, Fraser Properties, Legal & General, Mace and Peabody.