Understanding that your building needs a Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan is only the first step.
The more pressing practical question for Responsible Persons is: what does a compliant RPEEP actually contain, and how does the process work from beginning to end?
This article sets out every required component of the RPEEP process, explains how a RPEEP differs from a standard fire risk assessment and a workplace PEEP, and sets out the documentation and review obligations that sit alongside it.
RPEEP vs PEEP: What Is the Difference?
Before setting out what a RPEEP must contain, it is worth understanding how it differs from the workplace Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) that have existed in commercial settings since 2005.
A workplace PEEP is designed to ensure that a person who cannot self-evacuate is assisted to safety before the Fire and Rescue Service arrives, typically relying on designated staff, evacuation chairs and established roles and responsibilities within the building. The employer controls the environment, the staff are trained and present, and the plan is built around an organised human support structure.
A residential setting is fundamentally different.
There are no designated on-site staff on duty around the clock.
Residents live privately and independently.
The government’s own consultations found that mandating a full workplace-style PEEP in a residential building would raise serious concerns around practicality, proportionality and safety.
The RPEEP framework was therefore designed to be more resident-led and consent-based, focusing on empowering residents with information and agreed personal actions rather than placing the full burden of physical evacuation on the building operator.
In short, a RPEEP is not a guarantee of physical rescue.
It is a personalised, documented plan that gives a resident the best available information about what to do in the event of a fire, combined with measures to reduce their risk and ensure the Fire and Rescue Service knows where they are.
The Five Core Components of a RPEEP
The RPEEP process, as set out in the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 and accompanying GOV.UK guidance, comprises five interconnected elements.
Each one only proceeds with the resident’s explicit consent.
Step 1: Identification of the Relevant Resident
The process begins with the Responsible Person using reasonable endeavours to identify residents who may be unable to evacuate without assistance.
This could include writing to all residents, incorporating a self-referral question into tenancy sign-ups, and remaining alert to information already held about residents who may have relevant conditions.
No formal diagnosis is required and the Responsible Person is not expected to make clinical judgements.
The test is practical: would this person have difficulty leaving the building unaided in the event of a fire?
Step 2: The Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessment (PCFRA)
Once a relevant resident is identified and agrees to participate, the Responsible Person must offer and, where the resident requests it, carry out a Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessment (PCFRA).
This is separate from and additional to the building-level fire risk assessment required under Article 9 of the Fire Safety Order 2005.
The PCFRA is typically a structured conversation between the Responsible Person and the resident.
No medical specialist is required to carry it out.
It must include:
- An assessment of the risks relating to the resident and their flat, taking into account their specific cognitive or physical impairment or condition.
- Consideration of the resident’s ability to evacuate the building without assistance in the event of a fire.
- Identification of any reasonable and proportionate measures that could be put in place to mitigate those risks.
Measures arising from the PCFRA might include changes within the resident’s flat, such as the provision of specialised fire alarms for residents with hearing impairments, or common area improvements such as improved signage or evacuation equipment.
GOV.UK guidance makes clear that any measures implemented should be reasonable and proportionate, and a resident cannot be required to pay for a measure if they do not want to or cannot afford to.
Where a resident is unable to engage directly, for example due to a cognitive impairment, a representative such as a carer, partner or family member may engage on their behalf, provided the resident is present during the conversation and ultimately agrees to any measures and the resulting statement.
Step 3: The Emergency Evacuation Statement (EES)
Following the PCFRA, the Responsible Person must use reasonable endeavours to agree an Emergency Evacuation Statement (EES) with the resident.
This is the written document at the heart of the RPEEP process.
It sets out, in clear and practical terms, what the resident should do in the event of a fire.
The EES is not a complex legal document.
Government guidance describes it as a short, written explanation tailored to the individual.
It should be clear, accessible and written in a way the resident can understand and act on.
It must reflect the specific findings of the PCFRA and the evacuation strategy of the building.
Critically, the decision whether to agree an EES lies entirely with the resident. The Responsible Person must make reasonable endeavours to reach agreement, but cannot compel the resident to accept one.
A copy of the agreed EES must be provided to the resident.
Step 4: Information Sharing with the Fire and Rescue Service
Where a resident gives explicit consent, the Responsible Person must share a defined set of prescribed information with the local Fire and Rescue Authority. This information is deliberately limited to what is operationally necessary and must not include detailed medical or personal information. The prescribed information comprises:
- The resident’s flat number.
- The floor number on which the resident lives.
- Basic information on the degree of assistance the resident may require to evacuate.
- Whether the resident has an agreed Emergency Evacuation Statement.
This information must be stored in the building’s Secure Information Box (SIB), which may be physical or electronic. It allows attending fire crews to quickly identify where vulnerable residents are located and understand what support they may need. London Fire Brigade, for example, has confirmed it will store Building Emergency Evacuation Plans digitally within its own systems to enable rapid access during incidents.
All information sharing must comply with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Consent can be withdrawn by the resident at any time, and this must be reflected in the documentation held by both the Responsible Person and the Fire and Rescue Service.
Step 5: Review and Ongoing Maintenance
A RPEEP is not a one-off document. The Responsible Person must review each individual plan at least every 12 months, or sooner if the resident’s circumstances change. Changes that might trigger an earlier review include a deterioration in the resident’s condition, a change of flat, a change in the building’s evacuation strategy, or the resident withdrawing consent.
Good practice, as illustrated by real-life examples in the government’s own Responsible Persons Toolkit, includes flagging reviews when a resident has a hospital stay, notifying the relevant team when known changes in a resident’s health occur, and building RPEEP reviews into routine tenancy check-ins.
The Building Emergency Evacuation Plan (BEEP)
Alongside the individual RPEEPs, all buildings in scope must have a Building Emergency Evacuation Plan (BEEP) prepared and maintained by the Responsible Person. This is a building-wide document, not a resident-specific one, and it must be prepared regardless of whether any relevant residents have been identified.
The BEEP must include:
- The building’s evacuation strategy, for example stay put or simultaneous evacuation.
- Instructions for residents in the event of a fire.
- Confirmation of whether any RPEEPs exist within the building.
- Details of any other evacuation arrangements in place.
The BEEP must be shared with the local Fire and Rescue Authority and stored in the Secure Information Box. It must be reviewed at least every 12 months or sooner if significant changes occur. GOV.UK guidance confirms that the BEEP may be combined with the floor plans and building plan already required under Regulation 6 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, avoiding unnecessary duplication of documentation.
Documentation, Storage and Data Protection
Responsible Persons must keep clear, up-to-date records of the entire RPEEP process.
This includes records of which residents were identified, which were offered a PCFRA, which agreed an EES, which gave consent for information sharing, and which declined to participate at any stage.
Documenting declined participation is just as important as documenting completed plans: it demonstrates that reasonable endeavours were made.
All personal information must be handled in strict accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
The guidance is explicit that only the minimum necessary information should be collected and shared. No detailed medical records, diagnoses or sensitive personal data should be stored as part of the RPEEP process.
Individual RPEEP documents, including the agreed Emergency Evacuation Statement, should be provided to the resident and stored securely by the Responsible Person.
The prescribed information for Fire and Rescue Services must be placed in the building’s Secure Information Box and kept up to date.
A Compliance Checklist at a Glance
For Responsible Persons building their RPEEP framework, the core obligations can be summarised as follows:
- Use reasonable endeavours to identify all relevant residents.
- Offer each identified resident a Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessment.
- Carry out the PCFRA where the resident requests it.
- Use reasonable endeavours to agree an Emergency Evacuation Statement with the resident.
- Provide a copy of the EES to the resident.
- With consent, share prescribed information with the local Fire and Rescue Authority and store it in the Secure Information Box.
- Prepare a Building Emergency Evacuation Plan for the whole building.
- Share the BEEP with the local Fire and Rescue Authority and store in the Secure Information Box.
- Review all plans at least annually, or sooner if circumstances change.
- Maintain full records of the process, including where residents declined to engage.
Getting the documentation right from the outset is essential. At ESI Fire Safety, we help Responsible Persons build compliant RPEEP frameworks that are thorough, properly recorded and reviewed on schedule. If you need support with any stage of the process, get in touch with our team.
In the next article in this series, we move from what a RPEEP must contain to how to carry out a RPEEP assessment in practice, including how to approach residents sensitively and what to do when residents are reluctant to engage.
| Sources & References 1. Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 (gov.uk) 2. Residential PEEPs: Guidance for Responsible Persons, MHCLG, December 2025 (gov.uk) 3. Residential PEEPs: Factsheet, GOV.UK, December 2025 4. Responsible Persons Toolkit, MHCLG (gov.uk) 5. Mills & Reeve: New Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) Requirements from April 2026 6. Clyde & Co: Are you a Responsible Person? New legal duties apply, April 2026 7. London Fire Brigade: RPEEPs guidance for Responsible Persons (london-fire.gov.uk) 8. Fire Risk Assessment Network: Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 guide |
