File photo of the downtown area of Tongzhou, Beijing's new administrative center. [Photo: ynet.com]

Authorities in Beijing on Thursday night published stricter limits on commercial housing purchases in its southeastern Tongzhou district, expected to be the capital city's new administrative center.

Under the new regulation, Beijing-registered residents who are unmarried with at least one house, and families who have more than one house, are banned from buying a home there.

Meanwhile, those who do not have Beijing residency permits but have paid social insurance in Beijing for at least five years will be able to buy a commercial house in the district.

Housing prices have been rising in Tongzhou after Beijing announced that many of its departments would move from downtown to the southeastern district.

The construction of the new administrative center is part of Beijing's plan to deal with its "urban ills", such as traffic congestion and air pollution.

The move is also aimed to implement a system of integrated urban development.