Running the Business · Part 3
Mechanics liens I: the 20-day preliminary notice. Miss it, lose your rights
A mechanics lien is the strongest collection right a contractor has, a claim recorded against the property itself, and for anyone who did not contract directly with the owner it depends on one piece of paper sent in the first twenty days of the job: the preliminary notice. No notice, no lien, no stop payment notice, no bond claim. This lesson explains who must send it, to whom, by when, what it must say, how it must be delivered, and the one habit that makes it automatic. It also explains why the direct contractor on a residential job usually does not need to send it, and the one case where they do.
What the full lesson covers
- If you did not contract with the owner (you are a subcontractor, or a supplier), you must give a preliminary notice to the owner, the direct contractor, and any construction lender before you can record a lien, give a stop payment notice, or claim on a payment bond (Civil Code 8200).
- Give it not later than 20 days after you first furnish labor or materials. A late notice protects only the work furnished in the 20 days before it and afterward (8204).
- If you contracted directly with the owner, you need only give it to the construction lender, if there is one. No lender, no notice required for your own lien.
- Contents: the parties, the site by street address, your name and relationship, a general description of the work, an estimate of the total price, and the boldface "NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER" statement, verbatim (8102, 8202). Deliver by personal delivery or by registered, certified, express, or overnight mail (8106, 8110), and keep the proof.
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