The Lakes homeowners evicted from their properties prior to the arrival of Cyclone Hola, may not be allowed back home for some time.

At a meeting held at the council offices last night, residents were told that 19 of the 21 buildings could be issued with dangerous building notices.

This news comes after engineers have raised a new issue with the basement concrete block walls after checking the designs of two properties.

"Over the past week, Council has received advice from four experts from different companies who have identified a number of new issues," says a statement released by Tauranga City Council.

"This includes problems related to geotechnical, structural and building compliance."

As part of the ongoing assessments, geotechnical experts have carried out a survey of the Bella Vista site, and tested above and below the ground using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).

Structural engineers have also completed invasive testing on four homes by removing areas of GIB board, so they could assess the structure behind the walls, says the council.

The buildings are near completion.

"The initial advice is that two of the homes have the same structural issues as three buildings previously deemed to be dangerous.

"Engineers have also raised a new issue with the basement concrete block walls after checking the designs of two properties.

"On one of the properties, tests have shown the basement wall is not able to support water pressure loads."

Council says the basement walls at the former Bella Vista development are designed to withstand the pressure of dry dirt.

"Because the drainage at the site is inadequate, this places a heavier load on the walls and presents a risk.

"The assessment of design for the other building's wall showed that it's able to withstand the pressure, but the engineers need to confirm what has been built is the same as what has been designed.

"All but two of the buildings at this development have this type of basement wall and therefore we need to check that all these walls are safe."

At last night's meeting, which was also broadcast live outside of Tauranga, including in Australia, residents were told they they won't be able to return to their homes within the next three weeks.

"Over the past month and a half, Council has been undertaking a comprehensive assessment of all homes following the liquidation of Bella Vista on 30 November 2017.

"On Friday 9 March, Council issued a warrant to evacuate the properties in advance of a predicted extreme weather event and to allow for emergency works at the subdivision," says the council.

"Part of the reason for the evacuation was a concern with an unretained slope and the potential for the slope to fail.

"The geotechnical advice is that the unretained slope remains an issue, but it is only part of the problem.

"Council has also presented owners with three potential options that it is considering, which include: working with owners on remediation; Council buying the properties, demolishing the buildings and on-selling them to a developer; and, Council undertaking its regulatory functions only. We are not able to make any commitments on these. Elected members will make the final decision as to how we are to proceed.

"Then we will work with owners individually. Expert assessments are due to be completed by 12 April. At that point, Council will engage with owners on a way forward."