The purpose of this paper is to explain how the regulatory environment created by planning and building regulations interacts with land and property markets. Since this regulatory environment operates as a form of intervention within property markets in general and the development process in particular, it is essential first to understand the nature, structure and operation of land and property markets. These are covered in the first section. The second section identifies the aims and components of the planning system and building regulations. From this basis, four broad types of policy intervention are reviewed in the third section. These cover policies that seek to shape, regulate or stimulate market activity, and those that aim to build state or market capacity to produce desired outcomes. The final section uses the private residential development process as a case study to explore the extent to which state intervention can influence producer-consurner relationships in one important market sector. The paper argues that effective intervention in land and property markets requires the creation of a broad range of policy tools and their appropriate deployment to suit particular market circumstances. (c) 2008 Queen's Printer and Controller of HMSO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.