Landmark rulings by Hong Kong’s top court that affirmed housing benefits and inheritance rights for people in same-sex relationships have fuelled calls for authorities to quickly formulate a legal framework that recognises the rights of such couples.
The Court of Final Appeal ruled on Tuesday that same-sex couples enjoyed the same rights to apply for public rental housing as other families, and could live together in subsidised flats under the government’s Home Ownership Scheme.
It also granted same-sex couples equal inheritance rights and allowed them to bequeath their properties to their surviving partners.
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The latest rulings mark another milestone for Hong Kong’s LGBTQ community following their legal victories in areas such as taxation, civil servants’ benefits and the ability to use their preferred gender on identification documents.
In a ruling last year, the court demanded the government formulate an official legal framework acknowledging same-sex partnerships within two years, despite deciding not to recognise same-sex marriage in Hong Kong.
Jerome Yau, co-founder of Hong Kong Marriage Equality, urged the administration to share details about the coming framework and implement the necessary policies as soon as possible so same-sex couples could be eligible for the same marital entitlements enjoyed by their heterosexual counterparts.
“The government should promptly come up with a plan for public discussion and consultation. The message is clear [with the rulings against the government’s appeals]. All that is left to do is to quickly formulate the relevant policies,” he said.
“I hope no one will have to fight for their rights through legal means any more.”
Yau added that recognising same-sex marriage in Hong Kong would be a sensible step forward, ensuring such couples would be treated equally under the law.
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said in May that officials were conducting a study alongside the Department of Justice to develop a mechanism that fulfilled last year’s court ruling and prevented any abuse of the framework.
Suen Yiu-tung, a gender studies professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, also said the government should update the public on its efforts to formulate the legal framework.
“The [court] decisions on these cases have suggested that the Hong Kong government has continuously failed to provide convincing arguments to the court to justify the differential treatment that same-sex couples experience in different domains of life,” he said.
“It is time for the government to give more details about the comprehensive framework to protect same-sex couples’ rights.”
In response to Tuesday’s rulings, the Housing Authority said it would seek legal advice as necessary to follow up on the court’s decision.
Anthony Chiu Kwok-wai, a member of the statutory body, which is the city’s major public flat provider, said it would need to consider how to apply the arrangement to the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme.
The scheme allows public housing tenants to buy affordable flats so they can move up the property ladder.
Chiu, who is also the executive director of the Federation of Public Housing Estates, noted that recognising same-sex couples in the public housing regime could increase family applicants’ average waiting time for rental homes and intensify competition for subsidised sale flats under the Home Ownership Scheme.
But he expressed confidence that their inclusion would not significantly impact public housing resources or the long-term supply of flats.
There is no official data on the number of same-sex couples in Hong Kong.
As of September, the average waiting time for family and elderly applicants to be housed in a public rental flat is 5.5 years.
The government has identified sufficient land to meet the public housing supply target of 308,000 flats in the coming decade.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Hong Kong court upholds 3 rulings granting equal housing, inheritance rights to gay couples
- Hong Kong judges raise doubts over housing body’s stance curtailing LGBTQ couples’ rights
- Hong Kong now ‘very open-minded’ on LGBTQ issues, pride carnival founder says
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