In Lo Yau Shing (a bankrupt) ([2018] HKCFI 1574) the court was asked by the trustee in bankruptcy of one co-owner of a flat to grant an order for sale. This was resisted by the other co-owner.
B (the bankrupt) and F (his father) were joint tenants of the flat in which F lived with his wife. B’s bankruptcy gave rise to a severance of the joint tenancy (Re Dennis). B’s trustee in bankruptcy applied for an order for sale under section 60 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance and section 6 of the Partition Ordinance.
In Wong Chun Kei v Poon Vai Ching it was held that the court should make an order for sale unless either: (a) the order would not be beneficial to all co-owners; or (b) the order would result in very great hardship to one co-owner. The burden of proof was on the owner resisting the sale. Hardship could be physical or practical. The voice of the trustee in bankruptcy did not carry greater weight than that of the other co-owner.
The court refused to grant the order for sale. F and his wife were both very elderly and in very poor health. If the order were made:
‘The choices faced by Lo Senior and his wife will be to rent a modest room as residence, move into a residential home for the elderly run by charities (if one can be found) or hope for a big rise in social welfare payouts from the Government, which is unlikely.’ ([93])
In these circumstances, it would be unjust to make an order for sale, balancing the interests of F against those of the creditors. Further, it would cause very great hardship to F and his wife.
If the test were whether the circumstances were exceptional (Re Bremner; Everitt v Budhram) the outcome would be the same.
Michael Lower