If you are identified as someone who may need support, your building’s Responsible Person should:

This is a conversation about:

• Any challenges you may face should you need to evacuate your building in an emergency
• What arrangements might help improve your safety and help you evacuate your building quickly and safely in the event of a fire

You do not have to take part unless you want to.

These will be reasonable and proportionate options based on the assessment. Who pays for any changes depends on what is considered reasonable in each case. A resident cannot be made to pay for a measure if they do not want to or cannot afford to.

This is a short, written explanation of what you should do if there is a fire. You decide whether to agree to it.

This includes only:

• Your flat number
• Your floor number
• A basic indication of the assistance you might need
• Whether you have an evacuation statement

No medical or personal information is shared, and you may withdraw consent at any time.

Your assessment and arrangements should be reviewed by the Responsible Person at least every 12 months, or sooner if things change.

What the fire and rescue service does

Your local fire and rescue service will:

• Receive the very limited information listed above – only with your explicit consent
• Only use this information to help them plan a safe and effective response if a fire in your building occurs (the resident should still phone 999)
• Keep your information secure and only use it to support the operational response to a fire

Fire and rescue services do not:

• Carry out the resident assessments
• Create evacuation statements
• Hold medical details
• Decide what mitigation measures are reasonable
• Mediate disputes between residents and Responsible Persons

Every building covered by the regulations must also have a building emergency evacuation plan, which is the responsibility of the Responsible Person.

This should include:

• A copy of instructions to residents
• Whether there are relevant residents
• Any additional safety features in place (such as an evacuation alert system)

The plan must be shared with the fire and rescue service and reviewed every 12 months or sooner if needed.

Your choice, your consent

Residents’ participation in the RPEEP process is entirely voluntary. You decide:

• Whether to take part
• Whether to agree an evacuation statement
• Whether any information about you is shared with the fire and rescue service
• Whether to withdraw consent later

For more information about the new regulations, you can visit the Government’s official guidance pages, found here.

This page provides general information and should not be taken as legal advice.