Top court clears up HOS flat ownership row

People who contribute to mortgage payments for Home Ownership Scheme flats are entitled to partial ownership, even though they are not named on formal documents, the Court of Final Appeal ruled yesterday.

The top court ruled in two cases in favour of plaintiffs who paid most of the repayments on flats bought in the name of other family members, saying they had a "beneficial interest".

The court reversed a ruling by the Court of Appeal that people who contributed to the mortgage had no valid interest, according to the Housing Ordinance.

The ordinance prevents owners from profiting from the discount they received when they bought the flat by reselling or transferring it within five years.

The Court of Appeal deemed that other people paying the mortgage amounted to a transfer of ownership and therefore was illegal.

But the Court of Final Appeal disagreed, saying it was a family arrangement to pool resources to pay the mortgage.