Recommendation P1-36: Require understandable fire safety instructions
From Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report, published 30 October 2019.
Recommendation
The owner and manager of every residential building containing separate dwellings (whether or not it is a high-rise building) be required by law to provide fire safety instructions (including instructions for evacuation) in a form that the occupants of the building can reasonably be expected to understand, taking into account the nature of the building and their knowledge of the occupants.
In brief (written by this site)
The Home Office reported in February 2025 that this recommendation was complete, following the introduction of statutory requirements for comprehensible fire safety instructions (Home Office, Feb 2025). The department stated in February 2025 that the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force in January 2023 to mandate annual, comprehensible instructions for multi-occupied residential buildings, alongside provisions under Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 that took effect in October 2023 (Home Office, Feb 2025).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s Phase 1 report was exhaustive in detail and made a series of findings and recommendations relevant to government. As the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government made clear at the time of publication, the Government accepted in principle all these recommendations. This includes new duties on building owners and managers to: issue information to Fire and Rescue Services, ensure there are premises information boxes, carry out regular inspections of lifts and fire doors, equip buildings with the facilities for Fire and Rescue Services to send evacuation signals and ensure building floor numbers are clearly marked.
How this response relates to the recommendation
Site note: This is the government's response to the Phase 1 report (CP 209, 21 January 2020). It is organised by theme, not by recommendation, and states its position once, in its introduction: "the Government accepted in principle all these recommendations", meaning the recommendations "relevant to government". Where the row shows a passage from a themed section, that is the section on this recommendation's subject; where it shows the introduction, the response has no passage on this recommendation's subject. The status on a recommendation addressed to government is the introduction's. Where the recommendation is addressed to building owners, the emergency services or the National Police Air Service, the response describes work without stating acceptance, and the row is marked noted.
Site note: The source gives this passage once, for the introduction, on every recommendation relevant to government whose subject the response does not take up in a themed section. The same words are recorded on P1-5, P1-6, P1-8, P1-9, P1-30, P1-32, P1-33 and P1-36.
Delivery
Home Office says completed (26 February 2025)
Status: complete
In 2020 the then government consulted on its proposals to implement this recommendation in its Fire Safety Consultation and its response to the consultation was published in 2021 .
On 18 May 2022 regulations were laid under Article 24 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to implement this recommendation in part. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023.
Under the Regulations, the responsible person for all multi-occupied residential buildings must, regardless of height, provide their residents on an annual basis with relevant fire safety instructions. These instructions must be comprehensible to all residents and give residents instructions on how to report a fire, instructions related to the building’s evacuation strategy and any other instruction that tells residents what they must do when a fire has occurred.
Furthermore, whilst this recommendation has been partially addressed in the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, provision has also been made in Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 for a new requirement to be added to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requiring that responsible persons in buildings that contain two or more sets of domestic premises must provide residents with relevant and comprehensible fire safety information. Commencement regulations for this provision were laid in March 2023 and came into force on 1 October 2023.
From: Progress against the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations, February 2025
Site note: This is the Home Office's thematic update on progress against the Phase 1 recommendations. Its introduction says it includes updates from the relevant government departments and assurances received from the National Fire Chiefs Council, London Fire Brigade and other emergency services on their progress. The status line and the passage are the Home Office's compilation of what those bodies reported to it; where the passage gives a status for fire and rescue services and a separate one for London Fire Brigade, both are shown as printed.
Earlier statements on delivery (2)
Home Office (16 September 2024)
Status: Complete
In 2020 the then Government consulted on its proposals to implement this recommendation in its Fire Safety Consultation and its response to the consultation was published in 2021 ( link ).
On 18 May 2022 regulations were laid under Article 24 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to implement this recommendation in part. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023.
Under the Regulations, the responsible person for all multi-occupied residential buildings must, regardless of height, provide their residents on an annual basis with relevant fire safety instructions. These instructions must be comprehensible to all residents and give residents instructions on how to report a fire, instructions related to the building’s evacuation strategy and any other instruction that tells residents what they must do when a fire has occurred.
Furthermore, whilst this recommendation has been partially addressed in the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, provision has also been made in Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 for a new requirement to be added to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requiring that responsible persons in buildings that contain two or more sets of domestic premises must provide residents with relevant and comprehensible fire safety information. Commencement regulations for this provision were laid in March 2023 and came into force on 1 October 2023.
From: Progress against the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations, September 2024
Site note: This is the Home Office's thematic update on progress against the Phase 1 recommendations. Its introduction says it includes updates from the relevant government departments and assurances received from the National Fire Chiefs Council, London Fire Brigade and other emergency services on their progress. The status line and the passage are the Home Office's compilation of what those bodies reported to it; where the passage gives a status for fire and rescue services and a separate one for London Fire Brigade, both are shown as printed.
Home Office (5 February 2024)
Status: Complete
The Government consulted on its proposals to implement this recommendation in its Fire Safety Consultation (carried out in 2020). The Government responded to the consultation in 2021 ( link ).
On 18 May 2022 the Government laid regulations under Article 24 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to implement this recommendation in part. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023.
Under the Regulations, the responsible person for all multi-occupied residential buildings must, regardless of height, provide their residents on an annual basis with relevant fire safety instructions. These instructions must be comprehensible to all residents and give residents instructions on how to report a fire, instructions related to the building’s evacuation strategy and any other instruction that tells residents what they must do when a fire has occurred.
Furthermore, whilst this recommendation has been partially addressed in the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, provision has also been made in Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 for a new requirement to be added to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requiring that responsible persons in buildings that contain two or more sets of domestic premises must provide residents with relevant and comprehensible fire safety information. Commencement regulations for this provision were laid in March 2023 and came into force on 1 October 2023.
From: Progress against the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations, February 2024
Site note: This is the Home Office's thematic update on progress against the Phase 1 recommendations. Its introduction says it includes updates from the relevant government departments and assurances received from the National Fire Chiefs Council, London Fire Brigade and other emergency services on their progress. The status line and the passage are the Home Office's compilation of what those bodies reported to it; where the passage gives a status for fire and rescue services and a separate one for London Fire Brigade, both are shown as printed.
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- UK Government
Response - Home Office
Delivery statement