The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 came into force on 6 April 2026. If you own or manage a multi-occupancy residential building in England, you now have additional legal duties to identify vulnerable residents and ensure they have a personal plan to get out safely in a fire. Here is what the law requires, who it applies to, and why best practice demands you go further across all your properties.

Grenfell Tower

The Grenfell Tower fire of June 2017 exposed a devastating gap in fire safety provision for residents whose ability to evacuate without help was compromised. The Phase 1 Grenfell Tower Inquiry Report made specific recommendations that building owners and managers be required by law to prepare personal emergency evacuation plans for every resident whose ability to self-evacuate may be compromised whether through reduced mobility, a sensory impairment, a cognitive condition, or any other disability or health need.

Following two rounds of public consultation and years of engagement with disability groups, fire services, and housing providers, the government laid these Regulations in July 2025. They represent the most significant step forward in residential fire safety for vulnerable people since the Fire Safety Order of 2005.

Which buildings are in scope?

The Regulations apply to buildings in England that contain two or more sets of domestic premises and fall within one of two height thresholds:j

18 metres or more above ground level, or at least 7 storeys
More than 11 metres above ground level, with a simultaneous evacuation strategy in place
Purpose-built flats, converted houses, HMOs
Offices, retail, industrial, mixed-usen

A simultaneous evacuation strategy is one where the responsible person has determined that all occupants should leave the building immediately when a fire alarm sounds.

Who is a "relevant resident"?

The Regulations define a relevant resident as a person whose ability to evacuate the building without assistance is compromised due to a physical or cognitive impairment or condition, and for whom the building is their principal or only residence. This is deliberately broad and may include:

People with physical mobility impairments or conditions affecting movement
Those with visual or hearing impairments who may not receive a standard fire alarm warning in the usual way
Residents living with cognitive conditions such as dementia, learning disabilities, or mental health conditions that affect their ability to respond to an emergency
People with chronic health conditions or those who are temporarily incapacitated — such as post-surgery recovery
Any resident who, for any reason, cannot reasonably be expected to leave the building unaided in an emergency

What must the responsible person do?

The responsible person typically the building owner, management company, or principal landlord must:

Identify relevant residents

· Use reasonable endeavours to identify residents whose evacuation ability may be compromised. This may involve written surveys, engagement with managing agents, or existing occupant records.

Offer a person-centred fire risk assessment

· Offer (and if accepted) carry out a one-to-one assessment that examines the individual's specific risks, impairments, and ability to respond in an emergency within their particular premises and building.

Implement mitigation measures

· Identify and put in place reasonable and proportionate measures to reduce the risks identified — which could include physical aids, evacuation chairs, buddy systems, or changes to alarm systems.

Agree an emergency evacuation statement

· Work with the resident to agree a clear, written record of exactly what they should do if there is a fire. A copy must be given to the resident.

Share information with the Fire and Rescue Service

· With explicit resident consent, share prescribed minimal information with the local Fire and Rescue Authority so that crews attending an incident know where vulnerable residents are located.

Prepare a building evacuation plan

· Create a building-wide emergency evacuation plan, share it with the local Fire and Rescue Authority, store it in the secure information box if one exists, and review it at least every 12 months.

The entire process including the person-centred risk assessment, any mitigating measures, and the emergency evacuation statement must be reviewed within 12 months of first being completed, and then at least annually thereafter. A review must also be carried out if there is reason to believe it needs updating, or at the reasonable request of the resident.

What is a person-centred fire risk assessment?

A person-centred fire risk assessment (PCFRA) is a conversation-led process between the responsible person and the resident. Unlike a standard building fire risk assessment, which considers the building as a whole, a PCFRA is tailored entirely to the individual. It must assess:

The risks arising specifically from the resident's impairment or condition in the context of their home and the building
How the resident would receive a fire warning — for example, whether a standard audible alarm is sufficient, or whether a visual or vibrating alert device may be needed
The resident's ability to respond to the alarm, leave their flat, and travel to a place of safety
Any additional risks posed by the layout of their individual premises or floor within the building
What measures, reasonable and proportionate, could meaningfully reduce those risks

"The responsible person must offer a person-centred fire risk assessment to every relevant resident they identify. Where the resident accepts, the assessment must include consideration of their particular cognitive or physical impairment and their ability to respond to an evacuation in the circumstances."

Best practice means going further, across all properties

The Regulations are legally binding only for buildings above the specified height thresholds. However responsible property owners and managers should ask themselves: does the moral and operational case for protecting vulnerable occupants stop at 11 metres?

The answer is clearly no. The fire safety risks facing a resident with reduced mobility in a three-storey converted house or a ground-floor flat in a low-rise block can be just as serious as those facing the same resident in a tower block. The ability to evacuate safely is not determined by building height — it is determined by the individual's needs, the building's layout, the detection and alarm systems in place, and whether anyone knows they may need help.

Commercial and mixed-use buildings

Responsible persons for commercial premises such as offices, retail, hospitality, healthcare, education already have duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to ensure that all persons can evacuate safely. This includes employees, contractors, visitors, and members of the public. The principle of person-centred evacuation planning is equally applicable: a workplace PEEP (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan) for a disabled employee or regular visitor is not just good practice, it is often a legal obligation under the Equality Act 2010.

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