The Right to Remain: Common Law Protections for Security of Tenure: An Essay in Honor of John Otis Calmore

Security of tenure is a critically important human need.  While involuntary displacement can affect even conventional homeowners, it most often is imposed upon renters and those who own manufactured homes but lease the underlying land.  Most such renters are not wealthy enough to obtain security of tenure by agreement with the landowner, and therefore rely upon the government to assure them some protection against arbitrary terminations of occupancy by the landowner.
       
Some jurisdictions in the United States have acted legislatively to require good cause for eviction, but in most states tenants and owners of manufactured homes on rented sites must rely on the common law for any such protection.  The mid-century "revolution" in tenants' rights stopped far short of protecting continued tenancy.  This Article argues for a renewed litigation effort to realize security of tenure for such renters, by using either the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing that is commonly applied to contracts and commercial leases or an implied covenant of security of tenure (or good cause for termination).