South Florida mother Jasmine Irby was told by her landlord that she has two weeks to get vaccinated or she will be evicted.
“It was either get the shot or get out,” she told a Fox reporter. She says she was called by the front office of the Royal Palm at Inverrary apartments in Lauderhill, FL, and was asked if she was going to renew her lease. Jasmine answered yes. Days later, she says there was a note on her door that vaccination will be required.
She went to the leasing office and asked for them to show her in the lease where it says vaccination is required, but she says they told her it was not in the lease, in fact she would be signing the exact lease from before. Take a listen.
The 80 year old landlord, Santiago Alvarez, says all tenants must be vaccinated or they must move. He said if they don’t want to move then eviction is the next step. What he told The Washington Post contradicts Irby’s statement of not working with tenants. Alvarez has said he would make exceptions for people who choose not to get vaccinated for religious or medical reasons. He also said he would allow more time for long-term tenants to get their first dose of the vaccine, according to the Post. So why didn’t Irby get that treatment?
Irby has filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Irby argued that she should be able to renew her lease “without having to disclose my personal health information,” the Post reported.
Press secretary Christina Pushaw for Florida Governor Ron Desantis emailed news site The Hill and stated, “The law is very clear. He cannot require vaccine passports as a condition of entry. Each violation of the law will result in a $5000 fine,”. “The idea of requiring vaccine passports is unscientific and will not achieve lower cases. Without mandates, cases are dropping rapidly in Florida on their own,” she said. Alvarez says he will just have to pay the fine.
