Florida’s Construction Lien Law creates a system of notices which, if used properly, provide a balance of protections for owners, contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors and material suppliers. The statutory scheme is substantially affected by the relationship of contractual privity between various parties in the contratual relationships of a construction project. The Construction Lien Law is strictly construed by the Florida courts, requiring careful compliance with the statutory time periods and other requirements governing service of all required notices of Chapter 713, Florida Statutes. Lienors must pay careful attention to assure the validity of their liens.
Generally, an owner’s only responsibilities are to file and post a Notice of Commencement on the jobsite before an improvement is commenced and to make proper payments. The Notice of Commencement contains all the information necessary for potential lienors to file and perfect a construction lien. To make a proper payment, an owner should require that the contractor provide the owner with waivers from each subcontractor working on the job prior to each payment draw. This will ensure that each subcontractor has been paid for their work before the contractor is paid.
To obtain a lien, a lienor not in privity with the owner must file a Notice to Owner upon first furnishing services or materials, or within 45 days thereafter. Both non-privity lienors and lienors in privity must also record a Claim of Lien within 90 days after final furnishing and must serve a copy of the Claim of Lien on the owner 15 days after filing. Finally, the lienor must initiate a proceeding to enforce the lien within one year of filing the claim of lien, or else the lien is extinguished.
An owner may shorten the period for filing an action to enforce the lien in three ways. The owner may file a Notice of Contest of Lien, which shortens the deadline to foreclose to 60 days. The owner may also file a Complaint to show cause. This action requires the lienor to come before the court within 20 days to show proof of the lien, or else the lien is extinguished. Lastly, an owner may also try to extinguish a lien by serving upon the lienor a Demand for Sworn Statement of Account. This demand requires the lienor to respond within 30 days, under oath, with a statement containing the services provided by the lienor and the compensation owed for those services.
The following table is a quick reference chart for the deadlines for both an owner and a potential lienor.
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Filing
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Deadline
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| NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT Fla. Stat. §713.13 |
Recorded and posted within 90 days before commencing improvement. Valid for time specified in Notice. If no time specified, valid for 1 year. |
| NOTICE TO OWNER Fla. Stat. §713.06 |
Served on Owner before or within 45 days after first furnishing. Must be served before final payment to contractor. |
| CLAIM OF LIEN Fla. Stat. §713.08 |
Recorded within 90 days of last furnishing. Served on Owner within 15 daysof recording. |
| FORECLOSURE Fla. Stat. §713.22 |
Must be filed within 1 year of lien recording unless deadline shortened by owner furnishing Notice of Contest of Lien or Complaint to Show Cause. |
| NOTICE OF CONTEST OF LIEN Fla. Stat. §713.22 |
When recorded by Owner, shortens deadline to foreclose to 60 days; owner may record any time after lien recording. |
| COMPLAINT TO SHOW CAUSE Fla. Stat. §713.21 |
Once initiated by Owner, lienor has 20 days to demonstrate to court why lien should not be terminated. |
| OWNERS DEMAND FOR SWORN STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT Fla. Stat. §713.16 |
Once served upon lienor by owner, lienor has 30 days to respond, under oath, with a written statement of the work completed by and the amount due to the lienor. Failure to respond terminates lien rights. |
| LIENORS DEMAND FOR SWORN STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT Fla. Stat. §713.16 |
Once served upon owner by lienor, owner has 30 days to respond, under oath, with a written statement of all direct contracts, all amounts paid by the owner and the cost of completion if construction has ceased. Failure to respond forfeits owner’s right to attorney’s fees under § 713.29. |
| REQUEST FOR LIST OF SUBCONTRACTORS AND SUPPLIERS Fla. Stat. §713.16 |
Once delivered to contractor by owner through registered or certified mail, contractor has 10 days to respond with list of subcontractors and suppliers that worked on the improvement. Failure to respond terminates contractor’s lien rights to the extent the owner was prejudiced thereby. |
At Andrew Douglas, P.A. we handle cases in all of Broward County including Coconut Creek, Cooper City, Coral Springs, Dania, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale, Hillsboro Beach, Hollywood, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill, Lazy Lake Village, Lighthouse Point, Margate, Miramar, North Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Parkland, Pembroke Park, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Pompano Beach, Sea Ranch Lakes, Southwest Ranches, Sunrise, Tamarac, Weston, Wilton Manors, and Unincorporated Broward, and all cities in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties, and the Florida Keys.