15/07/2025
The Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) has published new guidance about the upcoming regulations on Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (Residential PEEPs)
Published on 4 July 2025, the new regulations aim to improve the fire safety of disabled and vulnerable people in high-rise and higher-risk residential buildings. Referred to as the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025, they will introduce new duties on building owners and managers to “address the fire safety concerns of their most vulnerable tenants”.
It follows the recommendations set out in Phase 1 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry report, which called for PEEPs to be prepared for “all residents whose ability to self-evacuate may be compromised”. The report also called on requirements for owners and managers of high-rise residential buildings to provide “up-to-date information about persons with reduced mobility and their associated PEEPs in the premises information box”.
“Following extensive evidence gathering, encompassing public consultations, calls for evidence, workshops, and working groups, government developed the Residential PEEPs policy, which these Regulations implement, to address these Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations,” MHCLG states.
As MHCLG explains, the new regulations will mean that residents with disabilities and impairments are entitled to a person-centred fire risk assessment (PCFRA) to “consider their specific individual risks and ability to evacuate in the event of a fire”. Alongside this, residents will be entitled to measures that “could be reasonably and proportionately introduced to mitigate against their risks” with a written emergency evacuation statement recording what they should do in the event of a fire. The information will also be shared with their local fire and rescue service so that they know where the most vulnerable residents live and how they can be best supported. The process will also include an ongoing review of the PCFRA, emergency evacuation statement, and the building emergency evacuation plan.
Issues around data protection and representatives of relevant residents are also addressed.
As MHCLG notes, the responsible person (RP) will be legally required to meet these measures under fire safety legislation. While the regulations have been set out on 4 July 2025, they are expected to come into force on 6 April 2026. Notably, they only apply in England.
The guidance also includes a toolkit for RPs, which includes real-life examples of PCFRAs and guidance on how to identify and engage with relevant residents.
