How and When Do I Record a Construction Lien?

Using construction liens to get paid can be an effective way to protect your work – if you follow the lien rules.

A lien is an encumbrance – a legal hold. This hold is placed on real property for the value of the work and materials you provided but for which you haven’t yet been paid. Someone who owns a piece of property cannot sell or refinance that property without resolving the issues connected to your lien.

There are guidelines and rules for using this construction tool. First, you need to be entitled to lien, generally because, through a written or oral contract, you have performed work on real property. Secondly, you need to fall within the chain of contracts provided by the lien law. The lowest “link” on that chain of potential lien holders is the sub-subcontractor and material supplier to a subcontractor.