Smarter Regulation, Better Homes? Finding the Balance in the UK's Rental Sector
Regulation Is Now a Business Reality
Regulation and politics have become part of the day-to-day operating reality across the UK rental sector. But the debate has moved well beyond compliance checklists. The bigger question is whether today's regulatory landscape is genuinely improving housing standards and strengthening renters' rights, or whether it is adding cost, delay and complexity that ultimately reduces housing supply.
The answer, as discussed by Mark Pritchard of Howard Kennedy, Niamh O’Conner of Summix, Hashi Mohamed of Landmark Chambers and Helen Kings of inhabeo, is far from straightforward. Strong regulation is not inherently a barrier to investment. In fact, institutional investors and pension funds often favour stable markets with clear rules, transparent governance and a trusted judicial process. Regulatory certainty can make the UK an attractive destination for long-term capital.
The challenge arises when policy changes become unpredictable. Frequent legislative changes and reforms introduced in response to the latest crisis can create uncertainty for developers, investors and operators alike. Rather than providing confidence, continual policy shifts increase delivery risk and make long-term planning significantly more difficult.
Building Safety: Raising Standards While Slowing Delivery?
Perhaps nowhere is the impact of regulation more visible than in building safety. The Building Safety Act has introduced a far more prescriptive framework, requiring greater evidence of compliance and establishing new gateway approval processes throughout development.
When implemented effectively, these reforms deliver clear benefits. Residents gain safer homes, owners and investors can better assess and manage risk, and the market rewards higher-quality developments.
However, regulation is only as effective as the system supporting it.
One of the most significant challenges highlighted by the panel is capacity. Building safety regulators, local authorities and the wider professional workforce responsible for delivering compliance all require sufficient resources. Without them, even well-designed regulations can create lengthy delays, uncertain decisions and stalled developments.
The UK's Global Competition for Investment
Property investment is increasingly global, and capital flows towards markets that offer stability and predictability.
The panel highlighted examples from Scotland and Ireland where rapid policy changes have affected investor confidence. Scotland's rental reforms, Ireland's abrupt co-living moratorium and shifting rent reset mechanisms demonstrate how sudden regulatory changes can pause transactions and disrupt the natural recycling of capital.
When transaction volumes fall, another problem emerges. Investors have fewer comparable deals to benchmark pricing and risk, making it harder for new capital to enter the market.
Building safety is only one part of this picture. Developers are also navigating increasingly complex planning requirements, environmental regulations such as nutrient neutrality, building safety levies, higher borrowing costs and rising construction prices. Individually these measures may be manageable, but together they can render schemes financially unviable—including lower-rise developments that still absorb significant compliance costs.
Regulating for Outcomes, Not Processes
One of the strongest themes to emerge from the discussion was the importance of proportionality.
Effective regulation should focus on delivering outcomes rather than enforcing rigid processes. For example, blanket requirements such as mandatory second staircases can undermine the viability of high-density developments, even where alternative design solutions could achieve the same fundamental objective: enabling residents to evacuate safely.
Similarly, the panel questioned whether some space standards, while well intentioned, may inadvertently reduce the availability of transitional accommodation for vulnerable groups, including young people experiencing homelessness.
The challenge is ensuring regulation protects residents without unintentionally limiting the supply of housing that many communities urgently need.
The Case for Smarter Regulation
The discussion suggests that the future lies not in deregulation but in smarter regulation.
That means better coordination across government departments, more predictable policy decisions and evidence-based guidance that provides clarity rather than confusion. It also requires regulators and enforcement bodies to be properly funded and equipped with the expertise needed to implement the rules effectively.
Ultimately, a regulatory framework should achieve two equally important objectives: protecting renters and maintaining confidence for those investing in new homes.
When regulation is stable, proportionate and properly resourced, it can raise standards while supporting housing delivery. When it becomes fragmented, reactive or under-resourced, it risks slowing development, discouraging investment and reducing the very housing supply it seeks to improve.
Finding that balance will be one of the defining challenges for the UK's rental sector in the years ahead.
This discussion took place at the Housed Summit at UKREiiF on 20th May 2026.
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The topics in this conversation will be continued on the Housed Shared Living Podcast - listen each week via all major podcast plaforms.