Towards the end of his Budget speech in Parliament today, Chancellor John Healey announced: “I’m drawing the line on constant changes to building regulations. No major changes to building regulations in this Parliament, except where it’s critical for safety.
However, the government will continue to implement recommendations from the Grenfell Inquiry.
Furthermore, it will also keep reviewing how amendments to regulations could support development by being more “proportionate”. This was targeted at industry and councils to encourage investment and building.
Regulations increase cost, complexity and timescales
Healey also said he was “removing biodiversity requirements for more brownfield sites”.
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The government will introduce an exemption from Biodiversity Net Gain requirements for residential brownfield developments on sites up to 1.5 hectares.
The move supports its goal of making brownfield sites the first choice for development, thus, making the construction of both council and private homes cheaper and simpler.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) partly attributed the reduced housing supply over the near and medium term to a series of regulatory and fiscal reforms implemented since 2019.
In its October 2026 economic and fiscal outlook, the OBR said policies such as the Building Safety Levy, the Building Safety Regulator regime, Biodiversity Net Gain requirements, nutrient mitigation schemes, the residential property developer tax and higher corporation tax rates have increased the cost, complexity and timescales of residential development.
Notably, it said these policies weighed more heavily on housebuilding than originally expected.
The OBR also said higher interest rates since late 2022, affordability pressures and weak effective demand had weighed on the commercial viability of residential development.
Additionally, developers were less able to absorb rising costs due to weaker buyer demand and higher borrowing costs.
Andy Morrison, director of UK Property Development, said: “The proposed changes to brownfield development are a positive step, but the government must go further in removing the obstacles that prevent housebuilding at scale. Without meaningful reform, there’s a danger that today’s investment delivers far less than its headline promise.”
