Landlord Fined $2,400 for Letting People Live in Basement

DOB issued a violation notice to landlord of a two-family house for permitting four occupants to live in the basement with substandard light, egress, and ventilation. Landlord explained at a hearing that his cousins from Bangladesh were staying temporarily in the basement but had moved out. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined him $2,400. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that he didn’t know it was a building violation to let people live in his basement and that the fine created a hardship. But ignorance of the law isn’t a defense, and financial hardship wasn’t a basis for reducing a civil penalty.

Zaman: ECB App. No. 1600394 (6/30/16) [1-pg. doc.]