Can Apartment Owners Require Tenants to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine? One South Florida Landlord Is Testing the Waters

A landlord in South Florida is requiring new tenants over 18 and residents who want to renew their lease to provide evidence that they’ve received a COVID-19 vaccine. But can Santiago Alvarez, who owns 1,200 units in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, legally require that?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis does not support vaccine and mask mandates, and signed a bill that bans businesses, educational institutions and government entities from requiring vaccine passports. The rule went into effect last week and will be enforced by the Florida Department of Health.

But that bill might not stop Alvarez, according to Coral Gables Attorney David Winker, who often represents both tenants and landlords.

“I don’t think it’s a good or service. I don’t think a property right or right to possession of a property to a lease is a good or service, so don’t think his current prohibition applies. I think, constitutionally, a landlord could do it in Florida. I think the landlords can require it,” Winker said.

Business owners who require a vaccine passport as a condition of entry could get a $5,000 fine for each violation of the law, according to DeSantis’ bill. But its language might not be broad enough to cover landlord-tenant disputes. 

“I think he would have to go back and change it. There’s nothing stopping him, right? He could just issue a new thing. It’s not widespread at this point, so I think it’s just not worth the political fight he’d be in to do it. There’s nothing that would stop him from amending his order and saying, ‘you can’t require it for living arrangements,’ ” Winker said. 

Winker said hotels and Airbnbs might meet the mandate requirements, since they are short term and could count as a good or service. 

What about forgeries?

As for tenants and their rights, if it’s a private unit, they don’t have much say. Currently, leases would have to be terminated legally, however, Winker said the rule has a lot of loopholes, especially when it comes to landlords proving the validity of a vaccine card. 

“I could forge my vaccination card. We don’t have a central depository to cross-check who’s been vaccinated and who hasn’t. I don’t know how that’s going to look. It’s an interesting problem. When you show up to school, you have proof from your pediatrician, and even your dog, you can show you have the rabies shot. It’s a weird thing. How do you prove it?” Winker said. 

Requiring tenants to get a COVID-19 vaccine can be an unreliable measure, in Winker’s view, as he’s concerned it could be used to discriminate against people.

“What if you’re my tenant and you get tuberculosis or AIDS? We went through this with the AIDS crisis for a while. At that point, it becomes more of an ADA issue. Think about it. Can I kick you out or terminate your lease because you actually have COVID? I don’t know the answer to that,” Winker said. 

Alvarez’s attorney, Juan Zorrilla of Fowler White Burnett in Miami did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.