Mechanic’s Liens: Protecting Contractors and Fighting Invalid Claims in Florida

Florida’s Construction Lien Law, codified in Chapter 713 of the Florida Statutes, is a powerful but complex legal framework designed to protect those who provide labor, services, or materials to improve real property. Also known as mechanic’s liens, these claims allow contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers (collectively, “lienors”) to seek payment by placing a legal claim against the improved property itself. For both lienors seeking payment and property owners facing a claim, understanding the strict statutory requirements is crucial.

Protecting Your Rights: A Contractor’s Guide to Filing a Valid Florida Lien

For construction professionals, a mechanic’s lien is your most critical tool for securing payment. However, the lien process in Florida is unforgiving; a single missed deadline or error can invalidate your entire claim.

To successfully secure your payment rights under Florida law, a contractor or supplier must strictly adhere to three critical timelines:

1. Notice to Owner (NTO): If you are a subcontractor, sub-sub-contractor, or material supplier not in direct contract with the property owner, you must serve a Notice to Owner to the property owner within 45 days of first furnishing labor or materials. This preliminary notice is a prerequisite to filing a lien, and failure to serve it timely will extinguish your lien rights. General contractors with a direct contract with the owner do not have this NTO requirement.
2. Claim of Lien: Regardless of your relationship with the owner, the formal Claim of Lien must be recorded with the County Clerk’s office within 90 days of the last day you furnished labor, services, or materials to the project. Once recorded, a copy must be served to the owner within 15 days.
3. Enforcement: A properly filed lien is only valid for one year from the date of recording. To enforce the lien, you must file a lawsuit to foreclose on the property within that one-year period.

A final, but essential, prerequisite is that only properly licensed contractors can enforce a lien for work that requires a license.

Property Owner Defenses: Fighting an Invalid Florida Claim

For property owners, a recorded lien is a cloud on your title, preventing the sale or refinancing of your property. Fortunately, the same strictness of Chapter 713 that protects contractors also provides owners with powerful tools to combat invalid, fraudulent, or expired claims.

The most effective tool is the Notice of Contest of Lien. By recording this document with the County Clerk, an owner drastically shortens the lienor’s deadline to file a lawsuit to enforce the lien from one year to just 60 days. If the lienor fails to file the lawsuit within this 60-day period, the lien is automatically extinguished.

Other grounds for challenging a lien include:

• Failure to Meet Deadlines: The lienor missed the 45-day NTO or the 90-day Claim of Lien recording deadline.
• Unlicensed Contractor: The lienor was not properly licensed for the work performed (this automatically voids the lien).
• Exaggerated or Fraudulent Amount: The claim amount is willfully exaggerated or contains charges for work or materials not provided.
• Failure to Respond to Demand: The lienor fails to provide a Sworn Statement of Account to the owner within 30 days of a written demand.

In all cases, because Florida’s lien law is construed strictly by the courts, consulting with a legal professional is the best way to ensure proper compliance, whether you are trying to protect your right to payment or clear your property title.

(Suggestion for external link: Link the phrase “Chapter 713 of the Florida Statutes” to the official statute page on the Florida Senate website.)

(Suggestion for internal link: Link a phrase like “consulting with a legal professional” to a relevant “Contact Us” or “Construction Litigation” page on your website.)