Residential PEEPs: The Fire Safety Records Required Since April 2026

Quick answer: The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/797) came into force on 6 April 2026. In buildings of two or more dwellings that are 18m or 7 storeys or more, or over 11m with a simultaneous evacuation strategy: the responsible person must identify residents who cannot self-evacuate, offer each a person-centred fire risk assessment, agree an emergency evacuation statement, and lodge a minimal information set in the building's secure information box for the fire service. Reviews are at least every 12 months.

These Regulations implement a Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendation that had been outstanding for years. They are also, from a record-keeping point of view, unusually well designed: they specify not just what you must assess, but precisely how little of it you may share. Getting that balance wrong in either direction is the compliance failure.

Which buildings are in scope

Regulation 3 defines a "specified residential building" as one containing two or more sets of domestic premises that meets at least one of:

• 18 metres or more above ground level; or
• at least 7 storeys; or
• more than 11 metres above ground level and operating a simultaneous evacuation strategy (meaning the responsible person has determined that all occupants should leave immediately in a fire, rather than stay put).

Height is measured to the top storey in line with Appendix D to Approved Document B. Underground levels do not count as storeys; a mezzanine counts only if its internal floor area is at least 50% of the largest above-ground storey.

The third limb is the one that catches people. A building of 11–18m is out of scope while it operates stay-put, and in scope the moment a fire risk assessment moves it to simultaneous evacuation, which is exactly what happens when a cladding or compartmentation defect is found. Scope can change mid-year, off the back of a decision you make yourself.

The duties, in order

1. Identify relevant residents (reg. 5): those whose ability to evacuate without assistance is affected by a physical or cognitive impairment.
2. Person-centred fire risk assessment (reg. 6), offered to each identified resident, and carried out with their consent.
3. Mitigation measures (reg. 7): reasonable and proportionate steps arising from the assessment.
4. Emergency evacuation statement (reg. 8), agreed with the resident, recording how their evacuation will work.
5. Review (reg. 9): at least every 12 months, and sooner if circumstances change.
6. Information to the fire and rescue authority (reg. 10), via the building's secure information box.

Alongside the individual plans, the responsible person prepares a building emergency evacuation plan covering how the building as a whole evacuates.

The secure information box: less is the requirement

This is where responsible persons most often over-comply, and create a data protection problem while trying to solve a fire safety one. The fire service receives only:

• flat number
• floor number
• a basic indication of assistance needs
• whether an emergency evacuation statement exists

Medical and personal information must not be placed in the box. The detailed assessment stays in your own records, held on the lawful basis you have identified, and shared only as the Regulations require. If your secure information box currently contains care plans or diagnoses, that is a finding waiting to happen.

The record set to hold

For each building in scope, expect to be able to produce:

• the identification exercise and how residents were invited to self-identify
• a person-centred fire risk assessment per participating resident, with evidence of consent
• the mitigation measures decided, and what was done
• each emergency evacuation statement, dated
• the building emergency evacuation plan
• a dated review log: the 12-month clock runs from the first emergency evacuation statement, or where none was agreed, from completion of the assessment
• a record of what was lodged in the secure information box, and when it was last updated

Residents move, conditions change and consent can be withdrawn. The review log is what demonstrates the system is live rather than a one-off exercise completed in April, and it is the first thing an inspecting officer will ask to see.

How this sits with your other fire records

These duties sit on top of, not instead of, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 regime. For HMOs, the LACORS standards remain the working reference. See our HMO fire safety guide. For premises now also caught by the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, the parallel documentation duties are covered in Martyn's Law: what premises must document.

Frequently asked questions

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 tall or have at least 7 storeys, or that are over 11 metres tall and operate a simultaneous evacuation strategy.

When did the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 come into force?

6 April 2026.

What must a responsible person record for residential PEEPs?

Identification of residents whose ability to self-evacuate is impaired, a person-centred fire risk assessment for each, the mitigation measures adopted, an emergency evacuation statement agreed with the resident, and a building emergency evacuation plan.

What information goes in the secure information box?

Only the minimum prescribed set: flat number, floor number, an indication of assistance needs, and whether an emergency evacuation statement exists. Medical and personal details must not be shared.

Primary sources

• The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/797)
• Kent Fire and Rescue Service: new safety rules from 6 April 2026

Reviewed by Jamie Dawson, Editor of Logbook.co.uk (the independent home of the UK logbook). Logbook.co.uk is not a logbook provider and has no commercial relationship with any provider. Corrections: corrections@logbook.co.uk

Related guides

• Care Home Fire Safety Records: A UK Operator's Post-Grenfell Guide (2026)