In the United Kingdom, regulation of contaminated land comes from Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990; responsibility falls on local authorities to create a "contaminated land register". For sites with dubious past and present uses the Local Planning Authority may ask for a desktop study, which is sometimes implemented as a condition in planning applications. However by definition land that is derelict or underused is highly unlikely to be determined as contaminated land – especially due to risks to human health.
The key regulation of brownfield land is through the land use planning system when a new land use is being considered.