The central government and Seoul’s municipal government are reviving a permit system for housing transactions that will cover 400-thousand homes in four affluent districts.

It was announced on Wednesday that two-thousand-200 apartment complexes in the Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa and Yongsan districts will be subject to the permit system for six months starting March 24.

The government also said it will consider extending this time period if necessary.

With the system in place, the practice of “gap investment,” where buyers leverage "jeonse" or a tenant's lump-sum deposit to cover part of the property cost, will be prohibited for the 400-thousand apartment units in Seoul.

The permit system requires local government approval for transactions involving properties exceeding a certain size in the designated areas.

Housing prices have soared in southern Seoul since the city government decided to lift the permit system for the Gangnam and Songpa districts last month.