On the retaliatory notice of eviction issue (see, Real Property Law § 233 [n] [1] [a]), Supreme Court did not err in finding a violation based upon the parties’ papers. The septic problem, as previously noted, breached the implied warranty of habitability (Real Property Law § 233 [m]) and, therefore, as a matter of law, the responsibility for its repair was with respondents, not the tenants. The notice to quit was clearly served in response to the tenants’ complaints about the septic problem. It is not necessary, as the dissent would require, that the notice to quit state that the eviction is in retaliation for the tenants’ formal complaints. Although respondents were well aware of the septic problems in April 1989, they did not serve the notice to quit until June 1989, shortly after the tenants complained to the authorities. Because of the timing of the notice to quit and because of the absence of any legitimate basis for evicting the tenants, the only logical conclusion to be drawn from the undisputed objective facts is that the tenants’ complaints prompted respondents to serve the notice to quit. Respondents’ subsequent self-serving claim to the contrary is insufficient to create a question of fact. Ignorance of the law, which prompted respondents’ alleged misunderstanding as to which party was responsible for the repairs, is no excuse for the clear violation of Real Property Law § 233 (n) (1) (a), although it can be considered in deciding the appropriate penalty for the violation.