Firefighters remove cladding from the Spencer Street apartment building. Credit:Jason South

The 41-storey apartment block which was evacuated after a fire destroyed five balconies on Monday has previously struggled to combat apartment overcrowding and issues with short-term rental guests.

Construction on the Neo 200 apartment complex on Spencer Street was completed in 2007 by LU Simon, according to the building's website.

It has 371 residential apartments, several levels of undercover parking, shops on the ground floor and entrances to both Spencer and Little Bourke Streets.

In 2015, it was hit by fire on New Year's Eve shortly after it emerged that it was one of the many Melbourne buildings known to harbour illegal rooming houses, with living rooms rented to multiple tenants as sleeping spaces.