If you own, manage or are otherwise responsible for a residential block, the rules on evacuating disabled and vulnerable residents changed on 6 April 2026. The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025, commonly known as the Residential PEEPs Regulations, are now in force. They place clear new duties on the responsible person to identify residents who may struggle to get out in a fire and to put person-centred plans in place to help them.
For landlords, freeholders and managing agents across Manchester, Bolton and the wider North West, this legislation is the most pressing fire safety change of the year. The good news is that the steps involved are practical and manageable, and the right disabled refuge systems make them far easier to meet. Below we explain what changed, which buildings are in scope, what you must do, and where common pitfalls lie in older blocks.
What changed on 6 April 2026
The Residential PEEPs Regulations were made under the Building Safety Act 2022 and came into force on 6 April 2026. A PEEP is a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan, a tailored plan that sets out how a specific resident will be helped to leave the building safely in the event of a fire. In the residential setting, these are sometimes written as RPEEPs to distinguish them from the workplace plans that many employers already use.
The aim is straightforward. After several high-profile fires, it became clear that residents who cannot self-evacuate, whether through reduced mobility, sensory impairment or a cognitive condition, were not always accounted for in a building’s evacuation strategy. The new rules require the responsible person to find out who those residents are, to carry out a person-centred fire risk assessment with each of them, and to record an emergency evacuation statement that frontline fire crews can use. You can read the government’s plain-English overview in the Residential PEEPs factsheet on GOV.UK.
It helps to see these duties as part of a wider direction of travel rather than a standalone rule. The Building Safety Act 2022 and the reforms that followed have steadily raised the standards for managing higher-risk residential buildings, with a much stronger emphasis on understanding your building, understanding your residents, and being able to provide evidence for both. The Residential PEEPs Regulations clearly fit into that picture. For most responsible individuals the work is less about brand new systems and more about formalising, recording and keeping current the things a well-run building should already understand about the people living in it.
Residential PEEPs vs Workplace PEEPs: what is different
Many employers already use PEEPs at work, so it is worth being clear about how the residential version differs. A workplace PEEP usually relies on staff-led evacuation, with colleagues trained to assist before the fire service arrives. The residential model is built differently because people are living in the building rather than working there under supervision.
- Residential PEEPs apply to relevant residents in specified buildings, not to staff or visitors.
- Workplace PEEPs typically depend on staff-led evacuation before the fire service attends.
- Residential PEEPs are built on resident consent, a person-centred assessment, an emergency evacuation statement and limited, prescribed information sharing.
- The responsible person must also consider the building’s wider evacuation strategy, not just the individual plan.
Which buildings are in scope
The Regulations apply to buildings in England that contain two or more sets of domestic premises and that meet one of two height thresholds:
- Buildings at least 18 metres in height above ground level, or with at least seven storeys; or
- Buildings more than 11 metres in height above ground level that use a simultaneous evacuation strategy instead of a stay put strategy.
In practice, this category includes a large share of the high-rise and mid-rise residential stock in our region, ranging from converted mill blocks and city-centre apartments in Manchester to purpose-built schemes in Bolton and across Greater Manchester and Lancashire. If you are unsure whether a particular building qualifies, the height and storey count are the starting point, and the evacuation strategy currently in place is the deciding factor for 11 metre blocks.
What a responsible person must now do, step by step
The responsible person is defined by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as the person with control of the premises, which is usually the building owner, freeholder or managing agent. The duties focus on a defined group that the Regulations call relevant residents.
| Relevant resident: under the Regulations, a ‘relevant resident’ is someone living in an in-scope building as their only or principal home whose ability to evacuate without assistance is compromised by a cognitive or physical impairment or condition. |
If you are the responsible person, the new duties break down into a clear sequence.
- Identify relevant residents using reasonable efforts. Use the information known or made available to you to find residents who may need assistance evacuating. Participation is voluntary, and you cannot compel anyone to take part, so the approach should be open, respectful, and repeated over time as occupancy changes.
- Offer a person-centred fire risk assessment (PCFRA). For each relevant resident you identify, offer an assessment and, where they agree, carry it out. A PCFRA is a guided conversation, not a technical inspection, focused on what the resident can and cannot do and what to do if a fire affects them.
- Agree and record an emergency evacuation statement. Where a plan can be agreed upon, write it down as a short, clear statement of what the resident has agreed to do in a fire, and provide the resident a copy. Every stage is subject to the resident’s explicit consent.
- Share prescribed information with the Fire and Rescue Authority, with consent. With consent, provide your local Fire and Rescue Authority the prescribed information identifying the resident’s flat and floor, outlining their assistance needs, and stating their emergency evacuation status.
- Prepare the emergency evacuation plan for the building. Bring the individual statements together into a plan for the building as a whole, so the wider evacuation strategy and the support for individual residents are joined up rather than held in separate files.
- Review and keep current. Treat these as living documents. The review triggers are set out below.
A point worth clarifying, because it is a common worry: you are not necessarily sending full personal plans around. The prescribed information is deliberately limited, and the local Fire and Rescue Authority decides whether it should be held electronically or physically, for example, in a secure information box on the premises. Sharing only happens with the resident’s explicit consent.
On timing, the Regulations are specific. You should review:
- no later than 12 months after the emergency evacuation statement is recorded, or where no statement is agreed, after the PCFRA is carried out, and at least every 12 months after that;
- when building changes affect the plan;
- when the resident reasonably requests a review;
- after incidents or drills, where appropriate.
Throughout, accurate records matter. If you are ever asked to demonstrate compliance, a well-kept set of assessments, statements and consent records is your evidence that the duty has been met. You can read the full duties in the GOV.UK guidance for responsible persons and in the supporting responsible persons toolkit.
How disabled refuge systems support the new evacuation duties
A plan on paper only works if a resident can call for help and someone can reach them quickly on the day. That is where a disabled refuge system earns its place. Also known as an Emergency Voice Communication System, or EVCS, it provides two-way communication between a refuge point, typically a protected lobby or stairwell, and a central control panel monitored during an evacuation.
A resident who cannot use the stairs unaided waits in the refuge and uses the system to speak to the person coordinating the evacuation, who can then direct assistance straight to them. At Argus we install and maintain a full range of these systems, from a basic call point through to two-way voice units such as C-Tec SigTEL and Gent Vo-Call. The relevant British Standard is BS 5839-9, which covers the design, installation and maintenance of EVCS used in disabled refuges.
In many blocks the practical model is progressive horizontal evacuation, where a resident is first moved to a safe area on the same floor, behind fire-resisting construction, before being assisted down if needed. The refuge and its communication system are central to working calmly rather than in a scramble. They give the resident a clear place to go and a reliable signal is the way to confirm that help is on its way, which is exactly the reassurance an emergency evacuation statement is meant to deliver.
Refuge systems rarely sit in isolation. They work alongside the building’s fire alarm system and, where appropriate, an alarm receiving centre connection for keyholder or fire response, so that detection, communication and response all join up. When you design these elements together, the emergency evacuation statements you have written for individual residents become genuinely workable.
Common pitfalls in older blocks, and how to address them
Newer schemes often have refuge provision built in. Older blocks are where most owners run into trouble, and the issues tend to repeat:
- Refuge points exist but the communication system is missing, obsolete or has never been commissioned. A refuge is only useful if the resident in it can be heard.
- Equipment has not been serviced. Like any life safety system, an EVCS needs regular testing and maintenance under BS 5839-9 to remain reliable, and battery-backed units in particular degrade if neglected.
- The evacuation strategy on the wall no longer matches reality. A stay-put block that has quietly moved to simultaneous evacuation may now fall in the scope of the Regulations without the paperwork catching up.
- Plans were written once and never reviewed, so they reflect residents who have long since moved on.
The way through is a survey that looks at the building as a whole: the evacuation strategy, the refuge provision, the alarm and detection in place, and the records that sit behind them. From there, it is usually possible to upgrade in stages rather than starting from the beginning, which keeps costs and disruption low.
Keeping it compliant: servicing and what good looks like
Meeting the duty once is not the same as meeting it for the life of the building. An emergency communication system for voice alerts is a life safety installation, so it needs scheduled servicing, periodic testing and prompt repair of any faults, in line with BS 5839-9. A sensible regime includes regular functional checks of each refuge point, inspection of the master control panel, and confirmation that battery back-up will hold up in a mains failure.
Good practice also means tying the technical maintenance to the paperwork. practice also means tying the technical maintenance to the paperwork. Service the system regularly, update resident plans to reflect current occupants, and ensure the recorded evacuation strategy matches the actual process. A current, linked file of equipment, assessments, and consents provides a clear answer for fire services or authorities regarding your building management.
Residential PEEPs compliance checklist
Use this document as a quick self-check. If you cannot confidently tick every box, it is worth a closer look.
☐ Confirm whether the building is in scope.
☐ Confirm whether it operates a stay put or simultaneous evacuation strategy.
☐ Identify relevant residents using reasonable endeavours.
☐ Offer person-centred fire risk assessments.
☐ Agree emergency evacuation statements where possible.
☐ Share prescribed information with consent.
☐ Prepare the emergency evacuation plan for the building.
☐ Review at least every 12 months.
☐ Survey disabled refuge and EVCS provision.
☐ Maintain the EVCS under BS 5839-9.
How Argus supports landlords and managing agents across the North West
Argus Fire & Security is an NSI approved, independent fire and security company based in Wigan, WN1 2BN, with more than 35 years in the industry and NACOSS Gold and BAFE SP203-1 accreditation. We work with landlords, freeholders and managing agents across the region, and our engineers are trained on the leading fire detection and refuge platforms, including Honeywell Gent.
For owners coming to terms with the Residential PEEPs Regulations, we can survey your building, advise on whether it falls in scope, design and install or upgrade a compliant disabled refuge system, and put the right servicing in place to keep it that way. We cover Manchester, Bolton and towns right across the North West, which you can see on our areas we cover page, with dedicated fire alarm support in Manchester and Bolton. You can also explore our full range of fire safety services.
Frequently asked questions
When did the Residential PEEPs Regulations come into force?
The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 came into force on 6 April 2026. The duties on responsible individuals apply from that date.
What is the difference between a PEEP and an RPEEP?
A PEEP is a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan, a term that originated in the workplace and relies heavily on staff-led assistance. An RPEEP, or Residential PEEP, is the version that applies under these Regulations to relevant residents in their own home. It is built on resident consent, a person-centred assessment and an emergency evacuation statement rather than on trained colleagues being on hand.
Do Residential PEEPs apply to stay put buildings?
Buildings at least 18 metres tall or with seven or more storeys are in scope regardless of strategy. For buildings over 11 metres, the duties apply when the building uses a simultaneous evacuation strategy instead of a stay put strategy. Either way, confirming your current strategy is an essential first step.
What information needs to be shared with the Fire and Rescue Authority?
Only prescribed information will be shared, and only with the resident’s explicit consent. It identifies the resident’s flat and floor, sets out the basic level of assistance they may need, and states whether they have an emergency evacuation statement.
Do full PEEPs need to be sent to the fire service?
No. You are not required to send full personal plans around. The information shared is deliberately limited, and the local Fire and Rescue Authority decides whether to hold it electronically or physically, for example, in a secure information box at the premises.
What is a building emergency evacuation plan?
It is the building-wide plan that brings the individual statements together with the overall evacuation strategy so that what happens for each relevant resident fits with how the building as a whole would be evacuated.
How often should Residential PEEPs be reviewed?
At least every 12 months, measured from when the emergency evacuation statement is recorded or the PCFRA is carried out. You should also review when building changes affect the plan, when a resident reasonably requests it, and after relevant incidents or drills.
How often should disabled refuge systems be serviced?
As a life safety system, an Emergency Voice Communication System should be tested and maintained regularly under BS 5839-9, with periodic functional checks of the refuge points and master panel and confirmation that battery backup will hold in a mains failure.
Do older residential blocks need disabled refuge systems?
If the building is in scope and you have relevant residents who may need to wait for assistance, a working means of communication from a refuge is usually essential to make their evacuation statements workable. Older blocks often have refuge points but a missing, obsolete or never-commissioned communication system, which is exactly what a survey will pick up.
Can a disabled refuge system be connected to the fire alarm?
Refuge communication systems are designed to work alongside the building’s fire alarm and, where appropriate, an alarm receiving centre connection so that detection, communication and response join up. The right integration depends on the building and is best confirmed by survey.
Who pays for Residential PEEPs measures?
Responsibility sits with the responsible person, usually the building owner, freeholder or managing agent. How costs are recovered will depend on the building’s ownership and the terms of the leases, so it is sensible to take your own advice on cost recovery alongside the compliance work.
Book a free compliance review with our fire team
If you are responsible for a residential block in the North West and want to be confident you are meeting the new evacuation duties, we can help. Our team will survey your building, review your refuge provision and set out a clear, staged plan to get compliant. Call us on 0345 2600093 or get in touch through our contact page to arrange your free compliance review.