Residential PEEPs Regulations 2025: What Responsible Persons Must Do From 6 April 2026

From 6 April 2026, the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/797) impose new fire safety duties on the owners and managers of high-rise and higher-risk residential buildings in England. In practice, Residential PEEPs mean identifying residents who would struggle to get out of the building unaided in a fire, assessing the fire risk to each of them as an individual, and recording what will happen to help them evacuate.

The Regulations are made under article 24 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Fire Safety Order), so they sit inside the existing fire safety regime rather than alongside it. They also deliver three recommendations from the Phase 1 report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry — recommendations 33.22.c, 33.22.e and 33.22.f — on personal emergency evacuation plans and building-level evacuation plans.

This guide explains which buildings are in scope, who counts as a relevant resident, what the responsible person must actually do, and what the fire and rescue authority expects to see. It is guidance, not legal advice — for a building-specific view, have your fire risk assessment reviewed with the Residential PEEPs duties in mind.

Which buildings do the Residential PEEPs regulations apply to?

Regulation 3 defines a specified residential building as one containing two or more sets of domestic premises — two or more flats or maisonettes — that meets at least one of three tests:

• it is at least 18 metres in height above ground level
• it has at least seven storeys
• it is more than 11 metres in height and has a simultaneous evacuation strategy

Height is measured to the top storey in line with Appendix D of Approved Document B. When counting storeys, any storey below ground level is ignored, and a mezzanine floor counts as a storey if its internal floor area is at least 50% of the internal floor area of the largest storey above ground.

A simultaneous evacuation strategy means the responsible person has decided that everyone in the building should leave immediately in a fire. In residential buildings this is typically an interim move away from a "stay put" strategy during remediation, but it can be a permanent or temporary arrangement set out in the fire risk assessment.

The Regulations apply in England only; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are outside the scope, although similar issues arise under other regimes such as the Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026.

Who counts as a "relevant resident"?

Regulation 4 defines a relevant resident as someone for whom a flat in the building is their only or principal residence, and whose ability to evacuate without assistance in the event of a fire is compromised as a result of a cognitive or physical impairment or condition.

The Home Office guidance gives examples: a person who habitually uses a wheelchair, a blind person, a person who cannot manage several flights of stairs, and a person whose cognitive condition — such as a learning disability or dementia — affects their ability to understand what to do in a fire. Three points are worth flagging:

• Temporary conditions count. A resident with a broken leg, or recovering from surgery, can be a relevant resident for the duration of the condition. The reasonable and proportionate measures required will reflect that.
• The test is self-evacuation. The question is whether the person could follow the building's normal evacuation instructions on their own — not whether they can walk to the shops.
• Children are included. Where the resident is under 18, the process runs through a person with parental responsibility.

The five duties on the responsible person

The Regulations are a package of duties, not a single form. The responsible person — usually the building owner, manager, residents' management company or right-to-manage company — must:

1. Identify relevant residents (regulation 5) 2. Offer a person-centred fire risk assessment to each one (regulation 6) 3. Implement reasonable and proportionate measures to mitigate the risks identified (regulation 7) 4. Agree and record an emergency evacuation statement where an approach can be agreed (regulation 8) 5. Share information with the local fire and rescue authority where the resident consents (regulation 10)

On top of that, regulation 13 requires a building emergency evacuation plan for every in-scope building, whether or not anyone in it is a relevant resident. We cover each duty below.

Identifying relevant residents

Under regulation 5, the responsible person must use reasonable endeavours to identify relevant residents. The guidance suggests a practical rhythm: ask when a new resident moves in, send an annual reminder to all residents, and respond when an individual makes an approach. The fire risk assessment process is a natural place to build this in — it already requires the responsible person to think about who uses the building and how they would evacuate.

Engagement is voluntary — a resident cannot be compelled to take part — and the responsible person should record cases where a resident declines or cannot be contacted despite reasonable efforts.

Person-centred fire risk assessments (PCFRA)

Under regulation 6, the responsible person must offer a person-centred fire risk assessment to each relevant resident they identify, and must carry one out for every resident who requests it (accepting the offer counts as a request).

A PCFRA is a focused assessment of two things:

• the risks to the resident arising from their compromised ability to evacuate without assistance, and
• any other risks to the resident in the building in light of their impairment or condition.

In practice it is a conversation about what the resident can and cannot do, and what would help in a fire. It is not a request for medical records — no clinical information is required, and anything shared is protected by data protection law (regulation 12). The PCFRA does not replace the building's fire risk assessment; it sits alongside it and considers risks specific to the individual.

One forward-looking point: future primary legislation will extend the PCFRA to cover fire safety risks inside the resident's own flat. The guidance already recommends including this, with the resident's agreement, so build it into the conversation now rather than rework the process later.

Reasonable and proportionate measures — and who pays

Following the PCFRA, regulation 7 requires the responsible person to implement reasonable and proportionate mitigating measures, after discussion with the resident. Factors include the degree of risk to the resident and others, the likely effectiveness of the measure, its practicality, and cost.

Who pays depends on the measure:

• The responsible person bears the cost of measures it is reasonable and proportionate to fund itself.
• Costs may be shared by residents only where the measure would benefit the majority — a lobby improvement, for example, not an individual's personal equipment.
• The resident may bear the cost of measures that benefit mainly them, but the responsible person only has to implement the measure if the resident agrees to pay. If the resident buys the equipment themselves, the responsible person should confirm it meets UK safety standards and does not create hazards in shared areas or on evacuation routes.

Emergency evacuation statements

At the end of the PCFRA, regulation 8 requires the responsible person to use reasonable endeavours to agree with the resident what they would do in a fire. Where an approach is agreed, it must be recorded in writing as an emergency evacuation statement, and the resident must be given a copy.

There is no prescribed format. The guidance recommends a short, clear statement of what the resident has agreed to do, including any arrangement with a neighbour who has offered support. The requirement to record a statement does not depend on mitigating measures being installed — a statement can be agreed even where no physical measures are needed. If no approach can be agreed, the responsible person should record that outcome and why.

Reviews: the 12-month cycle

Regulation 9 sets a clear review cycle. The responsible person must review the PCFRA, any mitigating measures and any emergency evacuation statement:

• no later than 12 months after the statement was first recorded (or, where no statement was agreed, 12 months after the PCFRA was completed), and every 12 months after that
• whenever there is reason to believe the assessment or statement needs amending — for example after significant changes to the building
• at the reasonable request of the resident — for example if their condition changes

An earlier review restarts the 12-month clock, and the guidance recommends reviewing after fire drills or incidents, particularly where mitigations did not perform as expected.

Sharing information with the fire and rescue authority

Under regulation 10, the responsible person must give the local fire and rescue authority four pieces of information for each relevant resident — but only with the resident's explicit consent:

• the resident's flat number
• the resident's floor number
• basic information about the degree of assistance the resident may need to evacuate
• whether the resident has an emergency evacuation statement

The information is provided in the format the authority chooses — electronically or as a hard copy in a secure information box, which the responsible person must install and maintain under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 if the building does not have one. Residents can withdraw consent at any time; refusing to share information does not end the other duties — the PCFRA and statement process continues regardless.

Building emergency evacuation plans

Regulation 13 applies to every specified residential building, whether or not anyone in it is a relevant resident. The responsible person must:

• prepare a building emergency evacuation plan
• provide a copy to the local fire and rescue authority
• place a copy in the secure information box where the building has one

The plan must include the instructions to residents about the evacuation strategy required under regulation 9 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, confirmation of whether there are relevant residents, and information about any other evacuation arrangements — such as an Evacuation Alert System, which Approved Document B recommends for new buildings over 18 metres. The plan must be aligned with the building's fire risk assessment, reviewed every 12 months, and amended copies sent to the fire and rescue authority and the secure information box. Regulation 14 amends the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 so the secure information box also holds this plan.

What about care homes and other non-domestic premises?

Care homes sit outside these Regulations. They are non-domestic premises under the Fire Safety Order, and SI 2025/797 applies only to domestic premises in residential buildings. Care home providers already owe their own duties: every resident who needs support to evacuate should have a personal emergency evacuation plan as part of the home's fire safety arrangements and CQC-aligned fire strategy.

Where the two regimes meet is supported living and extra-care housing within an in-scope residential block. The guidance encourages responsible persons to work collaboratively with care providers already supporting residents, to avoid overlap and make sure the support is appropriate.

Enforcement

The Regulations are enforced under the Fire Safety Order. Fire and rescue authorities can inspect the responsible person's Residential PEEPs process and serve an enforcement notice under article 30 of the Order where duties are not met. For high-rise buildings, a failure to put an effective process in place may also amount to a failure of an Accountable Person to perform duties under the Building Safety Act 2022, and residents can raise concerns through the Residents' Voice process. Individual disputes are expected to go through the landlord's complaints procedure, an ombudsman service or the relevant housing authority.

What responsible persons should do now

• Confirm scope. Check whether your building meets the definition of a specified residential building — including the 11-metre simultaneous-evacuation test, which is easy to miss.
• Build identification into your processes. Move-in checks, annual reminders, and a clear policy for cases like sublets and short stays.
• Offer and carry out PCFRAs. Record every outcome, including residents who decline.
• Agree statements and implement measures. Give residents their copies and keep evidence of what was reasonable and proportionate.
• Set a review calendar. Twelve-monthly reviews, plus event-triggered reviews, restarting the clock each time.
• Arrange information sharing. Get consent and provide the four data points to your fire and rescue authority in the format it chooses.
• Prepare the building emergency evacuation plan. Send it to the fire and rescue authority, place it in the secure information box, and update it on every review.

If you manage or own residential premises and need your fire risk assessment reviewed against the current regulations — including the Residential PEEPs duties — book an assessment with HawkSwift, or see our compliance document bundles for the records your premises need in place.

Frequently asked questions

What are Residential PEEPs?

Residential PEEPs are the duties introduced by the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/797), in force 6 April 2026. Responsible persons for in-scope buildings must identify residents who cannot evacuate unaided, offer each a person-centred fire risk assessment, agree a written emergency evacuation statement where possible, and share agreed information with the fire and rescue authority.

Which buildings do the Residential PEEPs regulations apply to?

Buildings in England containing two or more sets of domestic premises that are at least 18 metres high or have at least seven storeys, plus buildings over 11 metres with a simultaneous evacuation strategy.

Who counts as a relevant resident?

Anyone whose only or principal residence is a flat in the building and whose ability to evacuate without assistance in a fire is compromised by a cognitive or physical impairment — for example a wheelchair user, a blind person, someone who cannot manage stairs, or someone with dementia.

Is a person-centred fire risk assessment compulsory for every resident?

No. The responsible person must offer a PCFRA to every relevant resident they identify and carry one out for every resident who requests it. Participation is voluntary; residents can decline or withdraw at any time.

Who pays for the measures identified in a PCFRA?

Measures are funded by the responsible person, or shared by residents where they benefit the majority, or paid for by the resident — but resident-funded measures only have to be implemented if the resident agrees to pay.

Do the Residential PEEPs regulations apply to care homes?

No. Care homes are non-domestic premises under the Fire Safety Order, and the Regulations apply to domestic premises only. Care home providers still owe PEEPs-type duties under the RRO 2005 and CQC requirements.