A boarder received a shocking ultimatum in the form of a letter from his landlords over the weekend – get vaccinated or pack your bags.
According to the letter that BusinessDesk has obtained and was posted on a local Facebook group on Tuesday morning, an Auckland couple want their long term “great” tenant out of their home because he isn’t vaccinated.
The pair, who have rented out the bottom half of their Maraetai home to Alex Robinson for the past five years, say they are trying to protect both themselves and their family from covid.
Robinson, who runs a jet ski servicing company on the Pohutukawa Coast, received a letter from his landlords over the weekend stating that non-vaccinated people “cannot live in our home”.
Not that he's against vaccinations – he’s had flu shots in the past – but isn’t “comfortable” just yet given the experience of his family in the UK, who’ve been double vaccinated but who still got “very ill” with covid.
“What I am is anti-coercion. I don’t disagree with vaccines, but I disagree with the mandate behind it which can see people lose their homes or their jobs.”
He said the rental agreement was a standard one and there “certainly isn’t” any kind of pandemic clause in place.
But Robinson doesn’t think he’s a threat to anybody. “I’m always fully masked, and maintain a two-metre distance, unlike my landlords.”
The landlords, however, suggest their family has done “everything in our power to keep ourselves safe from covid by being double vaccinated, as has all of our family”.
In a letter to Robinson, they said the family doctor advised them that with the likelihood of restrictions being lifted, there is “every possibility” that covid will find unvaccinated people.
“We cannot afford for covid to be brought in our home under the present circumstances."
The letter said while the couple “fully understand that it is your right to choose not to be vaccinated” they had to prioritise their health going forward. “We have made the decision that we only want double vaccinated people to live in or visit our home.”
The landlords said they understood that being vaccinated doesn’t mean “we won’t get covid, but it gives us both a fighting chance to overcome it with less severe side effects”.
They said Robinson had been a “great tenant” and they’d hate to lose him.
Robinson told BusinessDesk he may reconsider getting the jab – given the option of having to move out of his home.
He said the decision was really gutting as the landlords had become “like family” to him.
BusinessDesk was unable to reach the landlords for comment.
This article has been updated to clarify Robinson was a boarder
