When we’re advising investors on UK residential and mixed-use property, there’s one question that comes up more than any other: “Can you guarantee the regulatory landscape won’t shift before we see returns?” The honest answer is no. But that’s not a reason to walk away, writes Dallas Craik, Head of Residential Management at Workman writes for Co Star News.

Regulation has always been part of the real estate landscape. The developers who have thrived are the ones who learned how to navigate it, and who recognised that complexity, managed well, creates competitive advantage. Today’s regulatory environment is undeniably more demanding. But for investors with the right expertise and advisers, it is also winnowing out weaker competition and creating genuine opportunity.

That said, the current degree of fragmentation deserves honest scrutiny, particularly where it hits mixed-use development. Shopping centre owners, town centre regeneration specialists, and mixed-use developers face a genuinely complex operating environment — and it’s stymying projects that could be growing Britain’s economy.

Consider a shopping centre owner looking to add residential above retail units. The residential component alone might require Building Safety Regulator approval, Regulator of Social Housing oversight for any affordable element, and New Homes Ombudsman or New Homes Quality Board jurisdiction post-completion. The retail and leisure elements fall under entirely different frameworks. If they’re incorporating assisted-living or care facilities, expect to add Care Quality Commission approval to the mix.

Each regulator operates independently with its own requirements. There’s no single point of contact, no unified timeline, and no one taking responsibility for resolving conflicts when requirements contradict each other.

For operators managing these assets day-to-day, this complexity requires careful management. A fire safety upgrade might require sign-off from multiple bodies. Compliance reporting goes to different authorities on different schedules using different formats. Maintenance protocols for shared systems must satisfy residential, retail, and potentially care facility standards simultaneously. These aren’t insurmountable problems; but they require methodical planning, deep sector knowledge, and advisers who’ve worked through the issues before. We help investors get clear answers about which regulations apply, and who has final authority, keeping projects viable.

Investec’s 2026 Future Living Survey reported that 92% of institutional investors said the Building Safety Act has negatively impacted their real estate strategies, citing higher compliance costs (68%), increased administrative burdens (60%), and extended project timelines (54%). Three-quarters (74%) have adjusted their strategies as a result.

For some, that adjustment has meant pulling back from the UK. But for others, it represents a considered repositioning: accepting that the post-BSA environment requires more expertise to navigate, and that those who develop that expertise face less competition for the best assets.

Our expert building consultancy team is seeing early signs of an uptick in residential development activity following the post-BSA slowdown, as the industry normalises around the new regulatory requirements, and deal pipelines that were paused begin to move again.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has called excessive regulatory burden a “boot on the neck of businesses,” and the proliferation of oversight bodies is a legitimate concern. The National Audit Office identified 36 key pieces of legislation governing the rented sector alone. Add devolved complexity – More Homes Scotland operating differently from Homes England, Welsh building safety bodies considering regulations that diverge from England – and pan-UK portfolio management becomes even more intricate.

But complexity has always sorted experienced operators from inexperienced ones. The mixed-use assets that will define the future of UK placemaking – residential above retail, community-integrated leisure, town centre regeneration – are precisely those that require navigating multiple regulatory regimes. Investors who can map their way through the maze will access opportunities others cannot.

None of this means the status quo is optimal. The creation of the Building Safety Regulator demonstrated that Government understands the value of consolidation. Extending that logic to mixed-use schemes – with clearer protocols for integrated review and a single compliance framework for shared buildings – would unlock significant development capacity and investment. Setting binding timescales for regulatory decisions would be a welcome step forward.

But waiting for the perfect regulatory environment before committing to UK real estate has never been a sound strategy. The opportunity in mixed-use development is real: efficient land use, integrated residential, community regeneration in locations that already have footfall and infrastructure. Well-placed investors are the ones who understand the rules as they stand today, work methodically through the process, and build the right team around them.