Land use planning is regulated by the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 (Act 172) for the states in Peninsular Malaysia. Persons and organisations seeking to carry out development on their land is required to obtain planning permission from the local planning authority. In respect of Kuala Lumpur City, planning is regulated by the Federal Territory (Planning) Act 1982(Act 267).

Planning control is guided by the Development Plan (Structure and Local Plan) prepared by the local planning authority as a blueprint. The local planning authority is given discretionary power to impose conditions on planning applications.