Here you can find out about the regulations and guidance we have to follow for all of our buildings that are 18 metres (seven storeys) or higher.

Accountability for high-rise buildings

There are defined roles, responsibilities and legal duties for organisations involved in high-rise buildings to make sure that fire and structural safety is managed effectively and consistently.

  • Although in most cases the legal duties are the responsibility of a company or organisation (such as a housing association, council or managing agent), the titles given to the new roles are Accountable Person (AP) and Principal Accountable Person (PAP).
  • Some buildings have more than one AP. Where that is the case, the AP who is responsible for the structure and exterior of the building is the PAP.
  • When buildings have just one single AP, that entity or person is also the PAP.
  • You can find out more about the roles and the legal duties here on the government website.

Building Safety Records

Building Safety Records (BSRs) contain lots of useful information, including details of your block’s construction, key safety measures, how we keep you and your building safe, what you need to do to keep everyone safe, any actions from the most recent fire risk assessment (FRA), and where your nearest fire station is. We send copies of BSRs to all residents in our high-rise buildings once a year. We’re also working on a project to make BSRs available via My Peabody and will let you know when this goes live.

Effective ways to engage and share building safety information

As residents, you will know your building well. That’s why it’s important we work together to agree the most effective ways for you to share information or raise queries about building safety, and for us to share and get your input on important building safety information and decisions. We’re in the process of contacting residents in all of our high-rise buildings to put engagement plans in place.

Fire Risk Assessments (FRA)

We carry out FRAs each year on our high-rise buildings. They’re important as they help us identify whether there are any potential fire risks in a building and, if there are, what needs to be done to reduce them. The assessment not only looks at the building, but also the people who use it, which means there may be actions that residents need to take as well as us (for example, making sure communal areas are kept clear). As with building safety records, we’re planning to publish FRA information on My Peabody and will let you know when this goes live.

Fire door checks

New safety rules for medium and high-rise buildings came into effect in January 2023. These regulations recognise that flat front doors play a crucial role in stopping the spread of fire and smoke. That's why we need to check your door once a year to make sure it meets the latest safety standards. You can find out more about why flat entrance doors are so important and what the checks involve here.

Lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment

We carry out monthly checks on lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment, including:

  • lifts for use by fire fighters
  • evacuation lifts
  • inlets and outlets for dry-rising and wet-rising mains
  • fire alarm, detection and suppression systems
  • evacuation alert systems
  • smoke ventilation systems.

We record the outcome of these monthly checks and they’re currently available on request (please email us). We’re planning to make the information available via My Peabody and will provide updates as the project progresses.

Resident evacuation plans

If someone in your household needs assistance to get out in an emergency, it’s important that you have the right support in place. It’s also important that the emergency services have details so they can deal with incidents effectively. If you or someone you live with might need support, for example because they have a disability, or can’t use the stairs, hear alarms or move quickly, please take a few minutes to provide details on this short online survey. The form also provides details of who you should talk to about getting support in place.

Wayfinding signage

New regulations on wayfinding signage are now in place for high-rise buildings to help the fire and rescue services and we’ve started a project to install signage in all our buildings that are 18 metres or higher.

  • The signs need to be located on every landing of a protected stairway, and every corridor, lobby or open access balcony that firefighting lifts open onto.
  • There are strict guidelines that we and our suppliers need to follow in terms of the size of the sign, the lettering and numbers, and where the signs should be mounted on the wall.

You can find out more about the new wayfinding signage regulations here on the government website.