"There are landlords out there that will take advantage of and exploit lower income folks, in this case they are students," said John Rouse, Brookhaven town attorney senior assistant.
A husband and wife are accused of housing a dozen students in unsafe conditions. That includes dead bolt locks on bedroom doors, lacking proper egress, unapproved sleeping areas and not enough smoke detectors, according to prosecutors.
"This particular home was bursting at the seams with Stonybrook students and was a four-bedroom home that was converted to a 10-bedroom house," said Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico.
Juan Lin and Xingtao Liu did not have any comment walking into the courthouse. They both pleaded not guilty to 30 charges.
Afire earlier this month sparked an investigation into the home that they own on Salem Drive.
"They were paying between $700 to 950 a piece to live in this death trap," Rouse said.
No one was injured in the blaze that began in a bathroom and traveled into the walls, according to officials
Fellow Stonybrook University student Ethan Geo was shocked that the structure was unsafe.
Geo lives next door and says he would spend time with his peers who lived there.
"After school we usually study together," he said.
Maria Leon-Pineros, a Salem Drive neighbor, told Eyewitness News that she has been complaining about the house and other homes in the area that she says are filled with college students.
"We see so many people coming out of these different houses," Leon-Pineros said over the phone.
Lin and Liu face up to 90 days in jail and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
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