New Residential Fire Safety Regulations Come Into Full Force

New Residential Fire Safety Regulations Come Into Full Force

‘The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025’ were first laid on 4th July 2025 and have now come into full force as of 6th April 2026. This legislation applies to residential buildings and adds to the Responsible Person’s obligations in safeguarding vulnerable residents against their unique fire risks, outlining the steps the Responsible Person must take to do so.

In this article we will cover:

  • What are the new regulations?
  • Where do they apply?
  • Grenfell Aftermath
  • What are my legal responsibilities under this new legislation?
  • GEEPs vs PEEPs
  • Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessments
  • Emergency Evacuation Statements
  • Communicating with the Fire and Rescue Authorities
  • Conclusion

What are the new regulations?

The new regulations are ‘The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025’. These regulations aim to improve the fire safety and evacuation of residents in specified residential buildings where they may be a struggle to evacuate the building in the event of a fire. These regulations are also a direct response to the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Where do they apply?

These new regulations apply to residential buildings that fit any of the following descriptions:

  • Residential buildings 18 metres high or taller
  • Residential buildings with 7 floors or more (including buildings less than 18 metres high)
  • Buildings over 11 metres high using a simultaneous evacuation strategy

Grenfell Aftermath

On 14th June 2017 just before 1.00am a fire broke out on the fourth floor of Grenfell Tower, a 23-storey tower block in North Kensington, London. Part of a social housing complex containing almost 1,000 homes, Grenfell consisted of 21 residential floors and 129 flats. 180 people were able to evacuate, and 65 people were rescued by Fire and Rescue Services, but a range of difficulties prevented some from evacuating, including work to the lifts that left them unfit for evacuating vulnerable residents or for aiding in the emergency response. In total 72 people died in the Grenfell fire in a national tragedy that was felt across the country.

The shockwaves that followed this disaster have been keenly felt in the fire and safety industry as multiple inquiries have been launched into the Grenfell Tower fire and the shortcomings in legislation that must be addressed to prevent another tragedy. The Grenfell Tower Phase 1 Inquiry Report made two recommendations:

  1. The Responsible Person for high-rise buildings should be required by law to prepare Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) for residents who cannot evacuate without assistance.
  2. It should be required by law that up to date information on these residents and their PEEPs should then be communicated to the Fire and Rescue Service and included in the site’s Premises Information Box.

These are the direct inspiration for ‘The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025’ which aims to put these two recommendations into action.

What are my legal responsibilities under this new legislation?

The new legislation is a legal requirement as part of the Responsible Person’s duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005, enforceable by the Fire and Rescue Authorities. These new responsibilities are as follows:

  • The Responsible Person must identify vulnerable residents that require a Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (Residential PEEP)
  • A Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessment (PCFRA) must be offered to the identified residents
  • Where fire risks for the resident are identified, these should be mitigated through proportionate means where it is reasonable to do so
  • An Emergency Evacuation Statement should be agreed with the resident and recorded in writing and stored in the Premises Information Box (where applicable)
  • Information about the resident should be shared with the Fire Rescue Authority to help inform any operational response and aid in evacuation
  • The Residential PEEP must be reviewed annually or at a point that the circumstances of the building or resident change in a way that would impact the Residential PEEP
  • All of the above steps require the consent of the resident. The resident can choose to decline a PCFRA, decline to have an Emergency Evacuation Statement, decline for their information to be shared with the Fire and Rescue Authority and decline to participate in the Residential PEEP process.

If some of the above doesn’t make sense to you, that’s okay! Let’s break down each of these new requirements and what they might mean for you as simply as possible.

GEEPs vs PEEPs

It is important to understand that GEEPs and PEEPs are not the same thing. General Emergency Evacuation Plans are a general evacuation plan that applies to all occupants and visitors of a building. Residential PEEPs aim to address where specific residents may be unable to follow the GEEP. A resident may struggle to self-evacuate if they have physical mobility issues, a sight or hearing impairment or due to having another physical or cognitive disability. These residents are at greater risk and may not be able to evacuate the same way as other residents by following the GEEP. The purpose of Residential PEEPs is to provide vulnerable residents with an evacuation plan that works for them and their specific needs.

The Residential PEEPs process involves:

  • A Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessment (PCFRA)
  • Implementing reasonable measures to mitigate risks and assist in evacuation
  • An Emergency Evacuation Statement that sums up the evacuation plan

The Responsible Person must identify the residents that may be unable to evacuate without assistance and who would therefore not fall under the GEEP. The resident must give their consent for a PCFRA and can ultimately decline to be involved in implementing mitigating measures and agreeing to an Emergency Evacuation Statement if they so wish.

Bonus tip: if a resident is reluctant to have an internal PCFRA, some Fire and Rescue Services like the London Fire Brigade offer Home Fire Safety Visits. Residents have been found to be more likely to engage with the PCFRA process after a visit from Fire and Rescue Services.

Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessments

The purpose of Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessments (PCFRAs) is to assess the additional risks that may result from the resident’s cognitive or physical impairment/condition and to consider their ability to evacuate the building without assistance in the event of a fire. This is not a general Fire Risk Assessment where the purpose is to assess the general fire safety precautions for the building. A PCFRA is specific to an individual and any risks to them beyond that of the general fire hazards, including barriers to evacuation.

Following the Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessment, a discussion should take place with the resident with the aim of identifying reasonable and proportionate measures the Responsible Person can take to mitigate the risks identified in the assessment. For example, this could include the use of an Evacuation Chair and/or the assistance of a ‘helper’ in evacuating the building.

Emergency Evacuation Statements

The Responsible Person must reasonably endeavour to agree with the resident what they should do in the event of a fire following their PCFRA. The Emergency Evacuation Statement is a simple written record of the agreed evacuation procedures for the resident in the event of a fire. It must be clear and concise so that Fire and Rescue Services can easily understand it and quickly organise their operations around it. It must also be simple enough for the resident to recall and follow in the event of an emergency.

The Responsible Person must ensure the Emergency Evacuation Statement is written down and communicated to the Fire and Rescue Authority. The Fire and Rescue Authority will decide if this should be communicated to them digitally or stored in your Premises Information Box.

If a Premises Information Box is not installed and the local Fire and Rescue Authority requires access to the information in hard copy format, then the Responsible Person must install and maintain a Premises Information Box for this purpose.

Communicating with the Fire and Rescue Authorities

The Responsible Person, with the consent of the resident, must contact the Fire and Rescue Authority to ensure they have access to key details they may need to assist the identified residents to evacuate in the event of a fire. Some of the key details include:

  • Resident flat number
  • Resident floor number
  • The degree of assistance they require
  • Their Emergency Evacuation Statement if they have one

This is important because it provides the Fire and Rescue services with all the information they need at a glance and helps them put together a plan of action for ensuring the safe evacuation of all residents. Same as the Emergency Evacuation Statement, this information may be provided digitally or stored in the Premises Information Box at the discretion of the Fire and Rescue Authority.

Annual Review

Similar to a GEEP, many of the procedures that form the new Residential PEEPs process must be reviewed on an annual basis as a legal requirement. This includes:

  • The resident’s Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessment (PCFRA)
  • The resident’s Emergency Evacuation Statement
  • Mitigating measures implemented from the PCFRA

These must be reviewed at minimum every 12 months. A review may be required before 12 months if: the layout of the building changes in a way that would impact a resident’s Residential PEEP, or, if the resident’s condition were to change in such a way that might impact their Residential PEEP. For example, their mobility becoming more limited due to their condition worsening.

Conclusion

These new regulations are an essential response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy that provide further protections to disabled and vulnerable residents and help ensure they have a clear and reasonable means of escape in the event of a fire. This is achieved through the introduction of a new Residential PEEPs process that expands the duties of the Responsible Person.

At Fire and Safety Centre, we offer a range of services for aiding in the evacuation of vulnerable residents including Evacuation Chairs, and should your Fire and Rescue Authority require the use of a Premises Information Box we also have you covered! If you would like to learn more about how we can help you ensure quick and safe evacuation and remain compliant with these new regulations, call us on 01724 281044 or email sales@fireansafetycentre.co.uk.