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

Hong Kong’s apical tribunal has ruled successful favour of adjacent inheritance and subsidised housing benefits for same-sex couples, marking a landmark triumph for LGBTQ+ rights successful the city.

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

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

The apical tribunal rejected the government’s appeals, a determination which experts accidental volition importantly interaction the lives of same-sex couples, who person historically faced less rights than their heterosexual counterparts successful the planetary fiscal hub.

Currently, Hong Kong recognises same-sex matrimony lone for circumstantial purposes, including taxation, civilian work benefits, and babelike visas.

On Tuesday, Nick Infinger, who challenged the government’s lodging argumentation aft the Housing Authority denied his nationalist lodging exertion with his same-sex partner, spoke to reporters extracurricular the court.

“I’ve been warring for LGBTQ rights for implicit 10 years. Finally, determination is thing to amusement for it,” helium said successful Cantonese, the Hong Kong Free Press reported.

“The court’s verdict contiguous tin beryllium seen arsenic an affirmation of same-sex couples’ emotion and [their close to] unrecorded together,” Mr Infinger added. “This is precise important.”

Mr Infinger joined his spouse successful Canada and launched his ineligible situation successful 2018.

Last twelvemonth successful October, Hong Kong’s appellate tribunal upheld rulings granting same-sex couples adjacent entree to nationalist rental lodging and subsidised lodging benefits, rejecting the government’s arguments that these rights would disadvantage heterosexual couples.

Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung had, astatine the time, said that the differential attraction acrophobic was successful effect “a signifier of targeted and nonstop discrimination”.

The lawsuit arose from ineligible challenges brought by Henry Li and his precocious partner, Edgar Ng, who encountered lodging and inheritance obstacles aft marrying successful Britain successful 2017. Since Hong Kong does not recognise same-sex marriage, galore couples opt to wed overseas.

This landmark determination marked the culmination of a four-year ineligible conflict during which Mr Li and Ng fought against discriminatory policies that prevented them from surviving unneurotic successful a subsidised flat.

While the ruling was a important victory, Mr Li expressed heavy sorrow implicit Ng’s passing successful 2020, which prevented them from experiencing the benefits of their hard-fought win.

“It has been much than 4 years since this tribunal lawsuit started. I sincerely anticipation that upon thoughtful consideration, the Housing Authority would not entreaty and fto this substance rest, and astatine past fto Edgar remainder successful peace,” Mr Li said successful a connection astatine the time.

Meanwhile, connected Tuesday, Jerome Yau, co-founder of the non-profit Hong Kong Marriage Equality, emphasised that the tribunal had made it “very clear” that determination is nary favoritism betwixt same-sex and heterosexual marriage. “So I deliberation the adjacent question is, if they are the same, wherefore we should dainty them differently?” Mr Yau said.

“Let’s anticipation the authorities volition instrumentality enactment of the judgement and yet bash their enactment and travel up with thing comprehensive… the champion solution is matrimony equality.”