Residents of the Madison Construction building, Kelkiah Apartments, were notified late Tuesday afternoon that they should evacuate as soon as possible due to very serious structural safety concerns.

Several more buildings across Canberra could face similar safety risks, a structural engineer has warned, saying the industry was poorly regulated.

The notice was issued by the building's owner's corporation, and the strata management, LMM Solutions, said anyone who remained in the building did so "at their own risk".

The ACT government said residents were not required to leave and it had been "taken by surprise" when the evacuation notice came out.

The warning came after a structural engineer found fire safety issues with the building's basement columns.

The four businesses in the building continued to operate as usual on Wednesday, and it is not known how many residents of the 40 apartments left the premises.

In a report on December 10, structural engineer Linden Coot found the building's basement columns were overloaded and showing signs of structural failure.

He said the columns currently had a fire-resistance level of 15 minutes and were required to have a level of at least 60 minutes with a sprinkler system, or 120 minutes otherwise.

A Peak Consulting building consultant recommended the apartments be evacuated on December 12.

"This recommendation does not come lightly, and all the experts involved in this matter have considered all factors but need to ensure we act with due diligence," a letter to LMM Solutions read.

Madison Construction, which built the apartments, no longer hold a licence in the ACT.

ACT Fire and Rescue community safety superintendent Greg Mason said there was no increased potential for a fire to due to any structural issues in the building.

"In the event of a significant fire there is a potential at this stage that the building may be impacted greater than what it has been designed for," he said.

"The building currently complies with all the relevant ACT Fire and Rescue fire safety requirements, so it is as adequately protected as any other building of its age and construction type within the territory."

Advanced structural design engineer Mal Wilson has warned many more buildings across the territory could face similar safety issues and has called for better regulation of engineers.

READ MORE:

He said Canberra's engineering industry was in an "ugly place", particularly since private certification was introduced, allowing many engineers to "cut corners" and "break the rules".

Mr Wilson said the industry was "pretty much unregulated" and he had repeatedly called on the ACT government to implement stronger oversight, including an auditing system.

He said the government held a duty of care to inform residents of any potential safety issues

"This is something that needs to be fixed," he said.

"Access Canberra owe it to all Canberrans that they ensure the buildings they are living in are safe."

"It has happened under the watch of the department and I think largely that's because there isn't adequate regulation".

Sustainable Building and Construction Minister Rebecca Vassarotti said the "concerning situation" highlighted the need for change to the private certification system, something she said would be a priority as she enters her first term in cabinet.

"There has been some significant reforms over the last number of years, there's absolutely more work that needs to be done and it will be a priority as I step into the portfolio," she said.

One former Kelkiah resident, who didn't want to be identified, had rented at the Macquarie apartments for several years from 2016.

He said the then relatively new apartments were "falling apart" and he repeatedly raised concerns with strata management.

He was concerned about a "vibration" throughout the apartments and said some steel beams had rusted in the then eight-year-old building.

The former resident wasn't shocked the safety concerns had been identified but was glad concerns were "finally" being listened to.