Skip to content
2026 is a significant year for fire safety compliance in the UK. The regulatory framework governing fire safety in buildings has undergone its most substantial reform in a generation, driven in large part by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations and the subsequent Building Safety Act 2022. The changes are now embedded in law. Fire and Rescue Authorities are enforcing them. And the consequences for building owners and managers who have not kept pace are serious.
This article sets out what has changed, what is changing in 2026, and what responsible persons and facilities managers need to prioritise right now.
The legislative landscape in 2026
- The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified that the FSO applies to the structure, external walls (including cladding), and flat entrance doors in multi-occupied residential buildings. Building owners can no longer argue that structural elements fall outside the scope of their fire safety obligations.
- The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced the Building Safety Regulator, created the ‘golden thread’ of building information, and placed new accountability duties on building owners and principal accountable persons. For higher-risk buildings (over 18 metres, or seven storeys), registration with the regulator is mandatory. New certificates, including Landlord and Leaseholder certificates, may be required.
- The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 introduced specific duties for responsible persons, including quarterly and annual fire door checks, mandatory fire safety information for residents, and fire safety information sharing with Fire and Rescue Services. These regulations are now embedded requirements, not discretionary good practice.
What is new in 2026
On 6 April 2026, the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 come into force. This is a significant change for buildings with residential occupancy including care homes, purpose-built flats, HMOs, and mixed-use developments with residential elements.
Duty holders must now identify residents who may need assistance in the event of a fire, offer person-centred fire risk assessments to those individuals, and agree written Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) with those who request them. This is not a box-ticking exercise, it is a substantive duty with direct implications for how buildings are managed and how fire safety procedures are designed.
Additionally, updated guidance under Approved Document B introduces changes affecting common stairs and evacuation lift design in high-rise residential buildings, reinforcing the need for accurate, current fire safety information across the building’s lifecycle.
The fire risk assessment: still the foundation
Every compliance obligation in this framework rests on a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment. Yet fire risk assessments remain one of the most common areas of enforcement failure because the quality, currency, and documentation of assessments frequently falls short.
In 2026, Fire and Rescue Authorities specifically look for:
- Documentation that goes beyond identifying hazards to include how fire safety is planned, controlled, monitored, and reviewed over time.
- Evidence that the assessment has been reviewed when circumstances change including layout alterations, changes in occupancy, introduction of new processes or materials, or following any fire or near-miss incident.
- For multi-occupied buildings: evidence that responsibilities are clearly assigned between duty holders and that fire safety information is coordinated across the building.
- Competency of the person who carried out the assessment. The FSO requires a ‘competent’ assessor. Self-assessment by building management teams without appropriate training carries increasing enforcement risk.
The legal standard is clear: unlimited fines, enforcement notices, and for the most serious breaches up to two years’ imprisonment. Fire and Rescue Authorities are enforcing. This is not a theoretical risk.
Fire detection and alarm systems: maintenance and compliance
A fire risk assessment identifies the required standard of fire detection and alarm provision. But the system installed is only as good as its maintenance. Under the FSO and supporting British Standards, fire detection and alarm systems must be maintained by competent engineers, with service records kept and made available on request.
The most common compliance gap Evolution’s Life Safety Systems engineers encounter is a system that was installed correctly but has not been maintained to the required standard. Degraded detectors, unwanted alarm sources that have been masked rather than resolved, service records that cannot be produced.
For facilities managers managing portfolios across multiple buildings, this is a particular risk: it is difficult to maintain consistent oversight of fire system maintenance across a dispersed estate without robust contract management and documented service records.
What building owners and managers should do now
- Review when your fire risk assessment was last updated and whether it reflects the current state of the building.
- If your building has residential occupancy of any kind, understand your obligations under the April 2026 PEEP regulations.
- For buildings over 18 metres, confirm registration with the Building Safety Regulator and review your golden thread documentation.
- Check your fire door inspection records: quarterly checks for communal doors and annual checks for all fire doors are statutory requirements in residential buildings.
- Review your fire detection and alarm maintenance contract: are service visits being carried out at the required frequency, by competent engineers, with records produced?
- For multi-occupied or mixed-use buildings: confirm that responsibilities between duty holders are clearly documented and that fire safety information is coordinated.
A fire safety compliance failure is a legal exposure and a genuine risk to life. The regulatory framework has been strengthened for good reason. Building owners who treat compliance as a procedural requirement rather than a substantive safety obligation are taking on significant personal liability.
How Evolution Life Safety Systems supports compliance
Evolution’s Life Safety Systems division provides fire detection and alarm design, installation, commissioning, and ongoing maintenance services across commercial, residential, healthcare, and mixed-use buildings in the UK. Our engineers are qualified to current British Standards, and our maintenance programmes are designed to produce the documentation record that responsible persons need for compliance and for enforcement visits.
We work with facilities managers, managing agents, M&E contractors, and building owners at single-site and portfolio level to deliver fire safety outcomes that are compliant, documented, and genuinely effective.
Contact Evolution Life Safety Systems to discuss a fire safety audit for your building or portfolio. We will identify compliance gaps, advise on remediation priorities, and provide a clear route to full compliance with 2026 requirements.