Hong Kong court rules for gay couple in public housing case

HONG KONG • The High Court in Hong Kong has ruled that married same-sex couples should be allowed to apply for public housing, after a government ban was found to be unconstitutional.

Hong Kong does not recognise same-sex marriages, but the case was brought by permanent resident Nick Infinger, who married his male partner in Canada in 2018 and applied for Hong Kong public housing as an "ordinary family".

The city's housing authority rejected their application under the "ordinary family" category because they are not husband and wife.

But Judge Anderson Chow yesterday ruled in favour of Mr Infinger in a judicial review, and said the authority was "unable to justify" the difference in treatment between heterosexual and homosexual couples under its spousal policy.

The judgment said a policy which excluded married same-sex couples from the eligibility of applying for public housing is "unlawful and unconstitutional". It also said that low-income same-sex couples had the same need for affordable housing as opposite-sex couples.

The court granted an order to quash the authority's decision and the public housing application has been remitted to the authority for fresh consideration. However, the authority could still appeal against the court's decision.

The Hong Kong Housing Authority, a government department, said it would seek legal advice "before taking appropriate follow-up actions". It also said there were no other applications for public housing from gay couples, apart from Mr Infinger and his partner.

"This judgment highlights yet another example of the discriminatory and unconstitutional government policies that LGBT+ people in Hong Kong face every day," Mr Infinger said in a statement.

Hong Kong's first openly gay lawmaker Ray Chan said the ruling is another legal victory for the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community. Hong Kong decriminalised homosexuality in 1991. In 2018, it announced that overseas same-sex partners would qualify for the right to live and work in the city.

But there is still a long way to go for Hong Kong to legalise same-sex marriages, as a valid marriage under the city's law would still require a couple to be heterosexual.

"Progress was made, one step at a time," said Mr Chan.

Mr Brian Leung, chief campaigner of rights group Big Love Alliance, said: "Same-sex couples are also citizens and taxpayers, but their basic right to apply for public housing has long been suppressed and discriminated against as the government chose to prioritise the right of heterosexual couples."

The court dismissed a challenge filed by Filipino Reverend Marrz Balaoro, who wants prosecutors to ensure that conducting religious marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples would not be a criminal offence.

Reverend Balaoro, who is transgender, was arrested in 2018 on suspicion of breaking Hong Kong's marriage laws for officiating "Holy Union" ceremonies at the city's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Straight Christian Church.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 05, 2020, with the headline Hong Kong court rules for gay couple in public housing case. Subscribe