‘I HAVE THE OBLIGATION’

Florida Landlord Tells Tenants: Get Vaxxed or Get Out

Santiago Alvarez imposed the mandate last month. Two workers have already quit, and one resident has filed a complaint with a state agency.

People across the U.S. have found they need to be vaccinated from COVID-19 to eat, work, and party. Some Florida residents will now need it if they want to continue living in their current apartment. A landlord in Lauderhill, Florida, a city northwest of Fort Lauderdale, has mandated his tenants and building employees be vaccinated from the virus to keep their lease and jobs. The move, instituted last month, outraged some of his existing tenants, one of whom filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to renew her lease without having to disclose her vaccination status. Two workers have also quit due to the policy.

“It very much upsets me that my employees are exposed to [COVID-19] all days of the week because there is someone who does not want to get vaccinated,” landlord Santiago Alvarez, 80, told The Washington Post. “If you don’t want to get vaccinated, I have the obligation and the duty to protect my workers and tenants.” Alvarez’s lawyer told the Post that his mandate doesn’t violate Gov. Ron DeSantis’ anti-mandate law because he does not provide a service and his tenants are not “customers or patrons,” as per the law. A spokeswoman for the governor disagreed, pointing to the $5,000 fine businesses will face should they mandate vaccines.