Hong Kong Opens Public Rental and Government-Subsidized Housing Applications to Same-Sex Couples

In Implementation of Last Year's Court of Final Appeal Ruling
No Official Announcement... Some Express Disappointment

Hong Kong authorities have decided to allow same-sex couples to apply for public rental housing and government-subsidized housing.

In 2015, a rainbow flag symbolizing the LGBTQ community was hung in downtown Hong Kong. Photo by AFP

On July 5, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Hong Kong's housing authorities stated, "Applications for public rental housing submitted by same-sex married couples will be processed according to the procedures applied to 'ordinary families'." In addition, a spokesperson for the authorities said that applications for government-subsidized apartments from same-sex married couples would be handled in the same way.

Previously, in the application form for the White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM), a Hong Kong housing policy that allows young people aged 18 or older but under 40 to purchase public or rental housing, applicants could only select either 'husband' or 'wife' in the family relationship section. With this new measure, applicants can now choose the gender-neutral term 'spouse' regardless of gender.

This measure follows three rulings by Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal in November of last year, which confirmed equal rights for same-sex couples regarding housing and inheritance. Although same-sex sexual relations were decriminalized in Hong Kong in 1991, same-sex couples had not been legally recognized. This was due to laws that strictly defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

After countless legal challenges over the past decade, mechanisms to protect the rights of same-sex couples have begun to emerge. A turning point came in November of last year, when a same-sex couple who had been denied public rental housing as a 'family' finally won their case at the Court of Final Appeal. Around the same time, rulings were also issued confirming same-sex couples' rights to government-subsidized housing and inheritance between same-sex partners. However, same-sex marriage is still not legally recognized in Hong Kong.

Additionally, SCMP noted that while Hong Kong authorities have revised public rental housing application forms and related documents to recognize same-sex couples in accordance with the court's decision, they have not made a public announcement about these changes. As a result, some in Hong Kong have expressed disappointment with this cautious approach.

Judy Chan Kapui, a member of Hong Kong's New People's Party, commented, "The authorities' measure only involves changes to the forms. It is consistent with the court's ruling and helps reduce unnecessary social debate." Jerome Yau, founder of the Hong Kong Marriage Equality group, welcomed the measure but pointed out, "Such an important change should have been widely communicated through official channels such as a press release."