While reading 6x6's Vaccine Punishment thread, I wondered if I could send out an Amendment to Lease on all of my month-to-month units and/or to renewing lease units, saying "All tenants and all residents over the age of 6 years must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by __[DATE]___ and must present proof of vaccination to Landlord upon request."

This would of course be for the protection of myself, my workers, and my subcontractors. It would not be intended as an end-run around eviction moratoriums .

In today's highly charged vaccine mandate environment, do you think a court would uphold an eviction based on a tenant's refusal to provide proof of vaccination? Please note, this would not be a government mandate, just a private contractual matter between a small landlord and a tenant.

Ha! Tongue in cheek, right mike45?

In certain states, they probably would.

I believe Brad and Ray have asked similar type questions before. I am curious as to what they ended up deciding.

I would also say, it depends on your own convictions about the vaccine. If you don't want to take it, then how can you ask someone else too?

Even if you are for the vaccines, I am sure that you did not like the government telling you that you could not evict.

Do you want to play dictator, or live and let live?

What is the reasoning behind your thoughts?

BTW, I am not picking on you. I like your creative thinking. I just would like to here a creative solution that does not infringe on rights. I know there are wheels turning out there.

I'm sending over my guys in hazmat suits. They are asking tenants if they have been vaccinated. Those that say, "No" are immediately tazed.

I personally hate government mandates. I believe that it should be each person's decision whether or not to get the vaccine. When I was in San Francisco and had to show proof of vaccination to get into restaurants, I was very p!ssed off. But I had to comply with the govt's order as enforced by the restaurants, or go hungry.

I am suggesting a clause in a lease that is not necessarily to be enforced, unless and until needed as a way around an eviction moratorium. If a non-paying tenant presents proof of vaccination, this would not be an available path, but if a tenant is laid off and unable to work (and hence unable to pay rent) because he has refused an (unconstitutional) govt mandate re vaccines, well, that same gov't might allow me to evict for that same refusal to prove he is vaccinated.

This is irrelevant, but I am fully vaccinated. It was a personal choice, not coerced by any govt entity, employer or anyone (except my wife), and after discussing it with my doctor (who is not vaccinated, already having the "natural immunity" conferred by becoming infected and getting well).

I do not care if my tenants are vaccinated or not. I am simply wondering about an ability to evict if there are moratoriums in place, and I think this might work.

I had to read your post twice. Unbelievable. Landlords are not the vaccine police.

You say.

“ I personally hate government mandates. I believe that it should be each person's decision whether or not to get the vaccine.”

But you want this in your lease?

California, this is where your thoughts on vaccines started changing, right?

Doesn't anyone care about what the law says?

I know what CA law says: It says you can evict if tenant gives notice he is going to vacate and then fails to do so, if he doesn't pay rent after notice, if he fails to perform according to the lease, after notice to perform or else, if he commits waste or nuisance and a few other things (I don't have the text of the statute in front of me). Failure to vaccinate is not on the list of what authorizes the judge to grant an eviction.

It is another matter of if you (LL) are entitled to demand in lease that tenant be vaccinated. There is matter of bodily incursion for one thing. Even the government mandate includes alternative of testing at regular close intervals.

Mike,

It sounds like you are making a business decision. So talk to me about the saving you are trying to achieve. Will your insurance go down? Will your maintenance person be able to do more work? Will you get more renewals?

It sounds like you want the safest possible operation - and that is a good thing. But you will need to do a risk assessment about any policy. You can expect plenty of push back by some while others will follow the flock.

As for the supreme court, I am not aware of them ruling on this yet. Do I expect them to - absolutely. That will be interesting in the question will be how liable are employers (or Landlords) in ensuring a work area is safe while measuring the rights of private citizens.

Ray, I never made a business decision to do this. It was just a thought I had that I wanted to kick around.

Moshe, my concept was to make this a lease provision, and if the Tenant failed to comply, it would be a breach of the lease. Maybe in a Covid-paranoid/gov't mandate state, this would be enforced with eviction by a judge as a breach of lease.

Dave, I never suggested doing this myself. My only thought was that in a state such as Cali, it might be enforceable by eviction, if the LL wanted to get rid of a T and if the T refused/failed to present proof of vaccination.

I am all about saving money, but the more I think about this - I am not sure how this does? I am told that after the shots you are less likely to get it badly.

I am not sure if I have had it yet. I know, from listening to the news that I must surely have been exposed. In fact if you believe the media - we all should probably be gone.

Dodge, I would imagine with the right attorney you could put up one heck of a case for not being vaxxed as potentially falling under a protected class. Disability. Not renting to someone who isn’t jabbed is assuming they are infected. A disadvantaged person for something being wrong with them.