Nearly six months after the passing of Miya Marcano, the young college student whose death rocked the Caribbean-American community, Florida legislators have passed a bill mandating stronger protections for tenants.
Miya’s Law, passed unanimously by the Senate on March 11, requires property owners and building managers to conduct background checks for all prospective employees.
According to the official website of the Miya Marcano Foundation, the law also places limitations on the use of master keys by building employees “to ensure the protection of all tenants, and aid in strengthening the relationship between landlords and tenants.” The bill had also been passed unanimously by the House of Representatives on March 10.
Investigators said an Arden Villas Apartments’ maintenance worker Armando Caballero used a master key fob to get into her apartment then kidnapped her. Marcano’s body was found in Orlando a week after she was reported missing.
According to her family, Cabellero had also expressed a romantic interest in the young student but was rebuffed. They also accused the apartment’s management of not taking Miya’s complaints about Cabellero seriously.
Miya, the daughter of popular Trinidadian South Florida DJ, Marlon Marcano (DJ EternalVibes), was a resident and an employee at the apartment complex.
Following the passing of the bill on Friday, Marlon thanked lawmakers. “The past few months have been unbelievable, to say the least. What my family and I have been going through, words can never explain. We send a special heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you. Miya is my world. She’s my baby girl, and I know today that she is smiling,” he said while speaking to reporters.
State Senator Linda Stewart, the bill’s lead sponsor, said she and her colleagues want to ensure that what happened to Miya does not happen again.
“Today marks an important milestone for Miya’s Law and bringing us one step closer to establishing vital protections for renters. This bill will honor Miya Marcano, 19, a college student who was senselessly killed last year by a maintenance worker at the apartment complex where she resided. Although Miya’s family will never get justice and nothing can bring back their daughter, I do hope with the passing of Miya’s Law this will bring some peace to the family and knowing that their daughter’s death was not in vain,” said Stewart in a statement.
The bill also bans motels from charging hourly room rates, with the goal of preventing sex trafficking. Tenants will also have to be given 24 hours’ notice before workers can enter apartments.
The legislation is now headed to Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign. If approved, property owners who violate the law could be hit with a felony or first-degree misdemeanor charge.
“This bill will not bring Miya back, but it will bring a greater sense of security for Florida’s two million renters,” added Representative Robin Bartleman, House sponsor of the bill.
“Thank you to Miya’s family, the Miya Marcano Foundation, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and Representative Scott Plakon. This session has been so divisive, but when it comes to the safety of Floridians, of our college students moving into their first apartment or our seniors residing in apartment communities, this legislature takes swift, bipartisan action. I urge Governor DeSantis to honor Miya’s name and sign this potentially lifesaving legislation into law.”
Miya Marcano was laid to rest last October in South Florida.
