Signing tenancy agreement with sublet company?

[AmyMi]

Bit of a strange one that I hope someone on here has some experience of.

My short term lease is up this week and I've been looking for permanent accommodation closer to the office.

I visited a flat today that checked all the boxes - tenant moved out recently, flat is in good nick, great location, etc.

However I realised that the person I arranged the viewing with and the person I met were two different people - one is the landlord and the other is the 'second landlord' in his own words.

He explained that the person I met is the landlord, and he rents out the apartment to him as the second landlord as a company. He then sublets it out to tenants, for tax reasons.

In the UK I would be backing away slowly at this arrangement, but is this a normal thing in HK? My alarm bells are ringing but I simply do not have the legal know-how to explain why. I don't mind if it's uncommon but OK, I just want to know if it's safe to proceed and if anyone has any experiences with this kind of arrangement in HK previously.

[Natfixit]

Sorry, although I have not experienced this in Hong Kong, I have seen this commonly happen in the UK. Second landlord....you mean lease holder? No two people can be landlords unless they both own the property, meaning that the ownership is in both of their names. Something does not add up. Especially the comment about tax reasons. Alarm bells are ringing for a very good reason. I seriously suggest that you skip this one.