Mechanic's Lien (Construction Lien)

The statutory lien a contractor, subcontractor, supplier or laborer may record against a property for unpaid work or materials - the preliminary notices and filing deadlines that make or break it, why an owner who paid the general contractor can still face a subcontractor's lien, and how the lien is enforced or released.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of law firms for this.

What it means

Every state gives those who improve real property a security interest in it for the value of their work. A contractor, subcontractor, material supplier, equipment lessor, design professional or laborer who is not paid may record a mechanic's lien (called a construction lien or materialman's lien in some states) against the property, and may then foreclose it - sell the property through the court and be paid from the proceeds - in the same way a mortgage lender forecloses. The lien attaches to the land and building, not to the owner personally, and it follows the property to a buyer, which is why a title search shortly after construction is the moment liens surface.

The lien exists only if the statute is followed exactly. Most states require a subcontractor or supplier who has no contract with the owner to serve a preliminary notice on the owner (and often the lender and general contractor) within a short period after first furnishing work, so the owner knows who is on the job and can withhold payment or demand lien waivers; without it the lien is lost. The lien itself must be recorded within a period that runs from the last work or from completion of the project, must be served on the owner, and must be foreclosed by suit within a further period or it expires. The statute also sets whether the lien is limited to what the owner still owes the general contractor or extends to the full unpaid amount, which decides whether an owner who paid the contractor in full can nonetheless be liened by an unpaid subcontractor. In many states the answer is yes.

Owners manage the risk with lien waivers - signed releases from each contractor, subcontractor and supplier exchanged for each progress payment, in statutory forms in the states that prescribe them - and with joint checks and a notice of completion that shortens the filing window. A lien recorded without a valid claim can be challenged in a summary proceeding, and an owner may release the property by posting a bond in the lien's amount. Public property cannot be liened; on public projects the same protection is provided by a payment bond instead.

Where this comes from

When people hire a lawyer for this

For a contractor or supplier the value of a lawyer is in the calendar: a preliminary notice a day late or a lien recorded in the wrong form is worth nothing, and a claimant should get advice as soon as an invoice goes unpaid rather than when the project ends. For an owner, a recorded lien from a subcontractor never heard of is the moment to see a lawyer, because the responses - demanding proof, tendering a bond, forcing the claimant to sue or release, or pursuing the general contractor - each have their own deadline, and paying twice is the outcome the statute allows if nothing is done.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find a lawyer for this in your state

Choose your state to see Construction law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z. A state marked “Real Estate” has no Construction listing yet and opens the broader page.

• Alabama (Birmingham)
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  • and 7 more with fewer listed firms
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• Wisconsin (Madison)
  +1 other city

  • Milwaukee
• Wyoming (Cheyenne)

Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

• Adverse PossessionThe doctrine by which a person who occupies land they do not own, openly and continuously for the period the state sets, becomes its owner - the elements, the "color of title" and tax-payment variations, and why it decides fence and driveway disputes far more often than it transfers whole parcels.
• Deed Types: Warranty, Special Warranty and QuitclaimWhat the different forms of deed promise about the title they convey - the general warranty deed's guarantee against every defect, the special warranty deed's narrower one, and the quitclaim deed's none - and what each is used for.
• EasementA legal right to use someone else's land for a defined purpose, without owning it.
• Eviction (Unlawful Detainer)The court process a landlord must use to make a tenant leave - and in most states, the only lawful way to do it.
• Foreclosure (Judicial and Non-Judicial)The process by which a mortgage lender takes and sells a home after default - the court-supervised route some states require and the trustee's sale others permit, the federal servicing rules that must be followed first, the loss-mitigation alternatives, and what the borrower can still owe or reclaim after the sale.
• HOA Covenants and Assessment LiensThe recorded restrictions that bind every owner in a planned community or condominium, the association that enforces them, and the assessment lien that lets it foreclose on a home for unpaid dues - what the documents control, how they are amended and enforced, and the limits the states have placed on association power.
• Homeowners Insurance ClaimHow a property loss claim actually works - what the policy covers, the duties it imposes on you, and where claims most often fail.
• Implied Warranty of HabitabilityA landlord's obligation to keep a rented home fit to live in - one the lease usually cannot sign away.
• Purchase Contract ContingenciesThe conditions in a home-purchase agreement that let a buyer walk away with the deposit - inspection, financing, appraisal, sale of the buyer's current home, title - how each is exercised and waived, and what happens to the earnest money when the deal fails.
• Quiet Title ActionThe lawsuit that asks a court to declare who owns a property and to remove a competing claim from the record - used to clear an old mortgage never released, a break in the chain of title, a tax-sale or adverse-possession claim, or a deed that should never have been recorded.
• Security DepositMoney a tenant leaves with a landlord against damage or unpaid rent - held under state rules that usually require an itemized accounting within a fixed period after move-out.
• Seller Disclosure DutiesWhat a seller of a home must tell a buyer about the property - known material defects, water intrusion, structural and system problems, and under federal law lead-based paint - the state disclosure forms, the "as is" sale, and what a buyer can do when a problem was concealed.
• Title Search and Title InsuranceThe examination of public records that establishes who owns a property and what claims stand against it, and the insurance policy that pays if that examination missed something - who is protected by the lender's policy, who by the owner's, and what neither covers.
• Transfer-on-Death DeedA recorded deed that leaves a house to someone at death while changing nothing during life - available in many states, and not all.

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