Hong Kong court upholds housing rights of gay couples in landmark ruling for LGBT+ community

Hong Kong’s top court has ruled in favour of equal inheritance and subsidised housing benefits for same-sex couples, marking a landmark win for LGBTQ+ rights in the city.

The Court of Final Appeal upheld prior rulings that deemed the exclusion of same-sex spouses from these benefits as unconstitutional discrimination.

The Housing Authority and Secretary for Justice in Hong Kong had petitioned the Court of Final Appeal to reverse the lower court’s rulings.

The top court rejected the government’s appeals, a decision which experts say will significantly impact the lives of same-sex couples, who have historically faced fewer rights than their heterosexual counterparts in the global financial hub.

Currently, Hong Kong recognises same-sex marriage only for specific purposes, including taxation, civil service benefits, and dependent visas.

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On Tuesday, Nick Infinger, who challenged the government’s housing policy after the Housing Authority denied his public housing application with his same-sex partner, spoke to reporters outside the court.

“I’ve been fighting for LGBTQ rights for over 10 years. Finally, there is something to show for it,” he said in Cantonese, the Hong Kong Free Press reported.

“The court’s verdict today can be seen as an affirmation of same-sex couples’ love and [their right to] live together,” Mr Infinger added. “This is very important.”

Mr Infinger married his partner in Canada and launched his legal challenge in 2018.

Last year in October, Hong Kong’s appellate court upheld rulings granting same-sex couples equal access to public rental housing and subsidised housing benefits, rejecting the government’s arguments that these rights would disadvantage heterosexual couples.

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Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung had, at the time, said that the differential treatment concerned was in effect “a form of targeted and direct discrimination”.

The case arose from legal challenges brought by Henry Li and his late partner, Edgar Ng, who encountered housing and inheritance obstacles after marrying in Britain in 2017. Since Hong Kong does not recognise same-sex marriage, many couples opt to wed overseas.

This landmark decision marked the culmination of a four-year legal struggle during which Mr Li and Ng fought against discriminatory policies that prevented them from living together in a subsidised flat.

While the ruling was a significant victory, Mr Li expressed deep sorrow over Ng’s passing in 2020, which prevented them from experiencing the benefits of their hard-fought win.

“It has been more than four years since this court case started. I sincerely hope that upon thoughtful consideration, the Housing Authority would not appeal and let this matter rest, and at last let Edgar rest in peace,” Mr Li said in a statement at the time.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Jerome Yau, co-founder of the non-profit Hong Kong Marriage Equality, emphasised that the court had made it “very clear” that there is no distinction between same-sex and heterosexual marriage. “So I think the next question is, if they are the same, why we should treat them differently?” Mr Yau said.

“Let’s hope the government will take note of the judgement and finally do their work and come up with something comprehensive… the best solution is marriage equality.”