Beijing land authority bans sales of tiny residential spaces

Beijing's land authority said on Friday it has banned the registration of "abnormally-shaped"residential spaces, such as extremely small rooms, passageways or garages, effectively blocking the sale of such properties.

Those spaces "don't serve practical living functions", the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources said in a post on its official Weibo account, China's equivalent of Twitter.

Local media have reported cases of tiny residential spaces being sold in central Beijing at sky-high prices. Buyers are mostly parents with school children.

Beijing policies dictate school enrolment to be largely determined by the location of the student's home.

Registration of a residential space is the last and most crucial part of a sale. Property buyers are only granted ownership certificates when the registration is successful.

The ban took effect on Thursday, it said.