Landlord of Broward apartment complex issues COVID vaccine mandate

Broward, Florida – Four months ago Gov. Ron DeSantis banned vaccine passports, stopping businesses from requiring you to show you’ve gotten the COVID shot, the pushback persists.

According to the sign on the rental office at Inverrary Village, as of August 15 employees and new tenants must be vaccinated. Existing tenants must prove at least one vaccination before their lease is renewed.

“If I’m not vaccinated and they want me to leave, I’ll leave,” said tenant Manny Jefferson, who doesn’t trust the vaccine.

Resident Carmelia Melliean also doesn’t want to get vaccinated. “If he asks me, I’m moving out, I’m not gonna take the vaccine,” she said.

Resident Barbara Barrow says she too was hesitant about the vaccine at first, but changed her mind after doing research and is now fully vaccinated.

She said she appreciates the landlord’s view. “It’s a way of making sure all residents and the community are safe,” she said.

This is a problem that affects not just Inverrary Village, but residents at more than 1,000 rental units that the landlord controls in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties.

After learning of the requirement, some tenants contacted eviction attorneys. So far there have been no tenant court challenges. Norwegian Cruise Lines won a court battle last month when a federal judge ruled the company could require passengers to be vaccinated.

The governor’s office responded with a statement that reads, in part: “We disagree with the judge’s legal reasoning and will be appealing. A prohibition on vaccine passports does not violate anyone’s speech rights.”