Fight for same-sex couples’ housing rights reach Hong Kong’s top court, and further updates

For PropertyGuru’s news roundup, Hong Kong’s Housing Authority seeks to overturn two lower court rulings as the fight for same-sex couples’ rights to public housing reaches the Court of Final Appeal. In other news, heavy rains in Hua Hin and Cha-am are expected to affect Thailand’s domestic tourism during the three-day holiday on the weekend of 12-13 Oct 2024. Lastly, a guide to help Singaporeans in selling their HDB flat.

Gov’t argues Hong Kong public housing for ‘traditional families’ as the fight for same-sex married couples’ rights reaches top court

Hong Kong’s public housing policy was aimed at supporting “traditional families founded on opposite-sex marriage,” a government lawyer has told the city’s top court in an appeal over housing rights for same-sex couples married overseas.

Heterosexual couples in Hong Kong had an “exclusive” right to apply for the Public Rental Housing (PRH) scheme and purchase flats through the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) through the spousal category, King’s Counsel Monica Carss-Frisk argued at the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) on Friday on behalf of the Housing Authority.

Exclusivity was one of six grounds the Housing Authority was seeking to rely on to overturn two lower court rulings that the spousal policies of the city’s public housing schemes were unlawful and unconstitutional. The policies constituted differential treatment based on sexual orientation, which was not justified and amounted to unlawful discrimination, the Court of First Instance earlier ruled.

On Friday, Carss-Frisk told a five-judge panel led by Chief Justice Andrew Cheung that the Hong Kong government’s public housing policy was aligned with its objective of solving the city’s imminent demographic challenges, such as an ageing population. “The overarching aim is to support traditional families founded on opposite-sex marriage,” she said in an HKFP report.

Heavy rainfall drowns domestic travel plans in Thailand

Heavy downpours in Hua Hin and Cha-am are expected to affect tourism during the three-day holiday on the weekend of 12-13 Oct 2024, worsening domestic sentiment, as the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) highlighted natural disasters as the most critical factor to watch during the high season.

Earlier this week, Cha-am, Hua Hin, and parts of Phetkasem Highway were affected by flooding measuring 20-40 centimetres, attributed to persistent rainfall, according to Bangkok Post.

Udom Srimahachota, vice-president of the Thai Hotels Association’s western chapter, said it took tourists an extra two hours to reach hotels in those areas. Mr Udom said the association estimates the number of domestic tourists might dip by 30 percent as they avoid travel delays.

Selling your HDB Flat in Singapore? 6 Top things to know about HDB sales proceeds

When you sell your Housing & Development Board (HDB) flat, it’s not a straightforward process. Anyone who has been through the process of selling their HDB flat or even attempted research in that area can attest the start-to-end process is no walk in the park.

Given how ‘hot’ the HDB resale market is and prices being at an all-time high in 2024, you may be considering selling your HDB flat in hopes of turning a nice profit. Maybe you have a freshly MOP-ed flat and want to take the opportunity to upgrade your home while the market conditions are still favourable.

To help you better understand where your money goes when selling your HDB flat, we’ll take you through the different financial milestones. From pre-flat sale to flat sale, post-flat sale and new flat purchase, here’s how your sales proceeds are affected. If you’re all ready to sell your HDB flat, this guide from PropertyGuru Singapore will help.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].