What Renters Want with Jessica Fiur: Could Apartments Turn Away Anti-Vax Renters?
Because of the recent measles outbreak, some doctors are refusing patients who haven't been vaccinated. Could apartments be next?
By Jessica Fiur, Senior Editor
As I’m sure you’ve heard, even though it was considered eradicated in the United States years ago, there is currently an outbreak of measles, which started in Disneyland, and now is spreading across the country. Many people are saying that it’s able to spread so far now because of an anti-vaccination movement, where parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children.
And some private institutions, such as doctors’ offices and daycare centers, are having none of this. They’re refusing services to children who haven’t been vaccinated, claiming that these children put other people at risk of disease, such as infants who are too young to receive the immunization.
Which got me wondering, what about apartments? Could property managers turn down potential renters who are anti-vax in the name of public health and safety? Would they even want to do that?
Privately owned communities are, obviously, privately owned. So as long as it doesn’t violate Fair Housing laws, could owners demand that renters who were able to and weren’t exempt for religious reason be vaccinated? (Would this violate Fair Housing laws? I’m clearly not a lawyer, so maybe a someone could fill me in on this in the comments section.)
