The government on Monday was given permission to appeal against court rulings extending housing and inheritance rights to same-sex couples.

The administration and the Housing Authority have twice lost legal battles against three applicants, with courts finding policies on subsidised housing and inheritance to be discriminatory and unconstitutional.

In seeking leave to challenge the rulings in the Court of Final Appeal, the government said there were several legal questions for top judges to clarify.

One is whether the constitutional right under Article 36 of the Basic Law for married couples to rent or buy subsidised flats together applies exclusively to heterosexual spouses.

Another question the government has is whether it's correct to compare different treatment afforded to same-sex and opposite-sex couples regarding housing, given that increasing the supply of flats supports the government's aim of promoting population growth.

The Court of Appeal decided that the government's questions are of great general or public importance and are arguable, and therefore agreed that the cases can be taken to the city's top court.