China is intensifying a crackdown on property developers and others who spread rumours to push up prices, as part of government’s efforts to head off a housing bubble.

China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on Wednesday ordered local regulators to intensify probes into rumour-mongering and “malicious” advertisements which play up rising home prices, saying it was disrupting the market, according to a statement on the ministry’s website.

The ministry said local authorities should follow the example of local police in Hangzhou and Shenzhen, which have taken “restrictive measures” against a local developer and an Internet user who spread rumours or untrue information related to property prices. Such steps will ensure a “stable and healthy” home market, the ministry said.