Residential Evacuation Plans Regulations (England) – In Force 6 April 2026 What Responsible Persons Need to Understand Now

From 6 April 2026, the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 introduce new legal duties for Responsible Persons managing certain residential buildings in England.

This is one of the most significant operational changes to residential fire safety since the amendments introduced by the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022. It moves the industry further away from generic evacuation assumptions and toward structured, person-centred planning.

The change is not cosmetic. It alters how vulnerability is identified, documented and managed within residential blocks.

Why These Regulations Were Introduced

Post-Grenfell reforms exposed long-standing concerns about how residents who may struggle to self-evacuate are considered within building fire strategies — particularly in buildings operating a “stay put” policy.

Historically:

  • There was inconsistency around Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) in general needs housing.

  • Responsible Persons often lacked clear statutory direction.

  • Fire and Rescue Services had limited pre-incident information about vulnerable occupants.

The 2025 Regulations aim to create a clearer, more proportionate framework that balances:

  • Building design and fire strategy

  • Resident vulnerability

  • Practical operational limits

  • Data protection obligations

  • Enforcement clarity


Who Is Affected?

The Regulations apply to Responsible Persons managing specified residential premises in England, particularly multi-occupied residential buildings subject to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

This typically includes:

  • Purpose-built blocks of flats

  • Converted residential buildings

  • Certain supported housing settings

The exact scope should be reviewed carefully against the statutory wording, but managing agents and landlords of multi-occupied residential buildings should assume applicability unless confirmed otherwise.

What the Regulations Require

Responsible Persons must now take reasonable steps to:

1. Identify Residents Who May Need Assistance

This involves proactive engagement — not assumptions.

It requires:

  • Inviting residents to disclose mobility, cognitive or sensory impairments

  • Recording relevant information (with consent)

  • Maintaining secure documentation

There is no obligation to force disclosure, but there is an obligation to offer the opportunity.

2. Prepare Individual Evacuation Information

Where residents indicate they may struggle to evacuate, the Responsible Person must consider:

  • The building’s fire strategy (e.g. stay put vs simultaneous evacuation)

  • The practicality of assisted evacuation

  • Proportionate control measures

  • Clear communication of what the resident should do in different fire scenarios

This does not automatically mean guaranteed assisted evacuation. It means documented, reasoned planning.

3. Maintain and Review Records

Evacuation planning is not a one-off exercise.

Responsible Persons must ensure:

  • Records are securely maintained

  • Plans are reviewed periodically

  • Reviews are triggered by material change (e.g. health deterioration, building alterations)

If it is not recorded, it is unlikely to be defensible.

How This Changes “Stay Put” Buildings

A key concern across the sector has been whether these Regulations undermine stay-put strategies.

They do not.

However, they do require:

  • Clear explanation of what “stay put” means

  • Clear communication of when evacuation becomes necessary

  • Consideration of how a resident would evacuate if fire originated within their own flat

The focus is on realistic planning rather than blanket assumptions.

What This Means in Practice

For managing agents and landlords, this introduces several operational requirements:

Structured Resident Engagement

There must be a formal method of:

  • Contacting residents

  • Inviting disclosure

  • Recording responses

  • Respecting data protection laws

Ad hoc conversations are unlikely to be sufficient.

Increased Documentation Burden

Expect:

  • Standardised templates

  • Secure data storage

  • Audit trails

  • Integration with fire risk assessment reviews

Enforcement authorities will likely expect evidence of process, not informal assurances.

Greater Scrutiny from Fire and Rescue Services

Fire and Rescue Services may request confirmation that:

  • Vulnerable resident engagement has occurred

  • Planning has been documented

  • Building strategy remains appropriate

Poor documentation could lead to enforcement notices.

Risk, Liability and Insurance Implications

The direction of travel in UK fire safety law is toward greater accountability.

Failure to comply could result in:

  • Enforcement action under the Fire Safety Order

  • Prosecution

  • Insurance complications

  • Reputational damage

  • Potential director liability in serious cases

While the Regulations aim to be proportionate, they raise the standard of what “reasonable steps” look like in 2026.

What These Regulations Do NOT Require

It is important to clarify what the law does not demand:

  • It does not require 24/7 on-site evacuation staff in general needs housing.

  • It does not automatically require evacuation lifts to be retrofitted.

  • It does not override the structural fire strategy of the building.

  • It does not require forced collection of medical data.

Instead, it requires documented, reasonable consideration and planning.

Practical Steps Responsible Persons Should Take Now

Before April 2026, organisations should:

  1. Review building portfolio applicability

  2. Develop a resident engagement procedure

  3. Create a compliant person-centred assessment template

  4. Train property management teams

  5. Review data protection policies

  6. Ensure fire risk assessments reflect evacuation planning processes

Organisations that delay preparation may struggle to implement structured systems quickly.

The Wider Regulatory Context

These Regulations sit within a broader reform framework that includes:

  • Fire Safety Act 2021

  • Building Safety Act 2022

  • Enhanced documentation duties under the Fire Safety Order

  • Increased oversight by the Building Safety Regulator

The cumulative effect is clear: residential fire safety management is now a governance issue, not just a facilities task.

Final Thoughts

The Residential Evacuation Plans Regulations represent a shift toward transparency, documentation and resident inclusion.

They do not radically change building design overnight. They do change expectations around management.

Responsible Persons who adopt structured, proportionate systems early will be best placed to demonstrate compliance, reduce enforcement risk, and build resident confidence.

April 2026 is not far away — and preparation should already be underway.