Notice of Intent to Lien

Last updated

In Mechanic's lien law a Notice of Intent to Lien (also known as a Notice of Intent, a Notice of Intent to File a Mechanics Lien, an intent notice, an NOI, or a notice of non-payment) is a type of preliminary notice that warns the property owner, prime contractor, and/or other party on a construction that a mechanics lien or bond claim will be filed unless overdue payments are made within a certain period of time.

A Notice of Intent to Lien is formally required in nine states. In these states, notices of intent must be sent prior to the filing of a mechanics lien claim. These requirements only exist for private projects, there are no notice of intent requirements on state, federal, and other public works projects. The following states require the sending of a Notice of Intent to Lien. [1]

Sending a Notice of Intent is often helpful even if it is not required because it motivates top-of-chain parties to make payment in order to avoid facing a claim of lien. Delayed payment on construction projects often results from a lack of communication, so sending Notices of Intent and other preliminary notices can help inform parties higher up the payment chain of who is working for them and who has not been paid.

Related Research Articles

In law, a default is the failure to do something required by law or to comply with a contractual obligation. Legal obligations can arise when a response or appearance is required in legal proceedings, after taking out a loan, or as agreed in a contract; failure to carry them out puts one in defaults of the obligations.

Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the parties involved.

A lien is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the lienee and the person who has the benefit of the lien is referred to as the lienor or lien holder.

Title insurance is a form of indemnity insurance, predominantly found in the United States and Canada, that insures against financial loss from defects in title to real property and from the invalidity or unenforceability of mortgage loans. Unlike some land registration systems in countries outside the United States, US states' recorders of deeds generally do not guarantee indefeasible title to those recorded titles. Title insurance will defend against a lawsuit attacking the title or reimburse the insured for the actual monetary loss incurred up to the dollar amount of insurance provided by the policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreclosure</span> Legal process where a lender recoups an unpaid loan by forcing the borrower to sell the collateral

Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tax lien</span> Lien imposed on property by law to secure payment of taxes

A tax lien is a lien which is imposed upon a property by law in order to secure the payment of taxes. A tax lien may be imposed for the purpose of collecting delinquent taxes which are owed on real property or personal property, or it may be imposed as a result of a failure to pay income taxes or it may be imposed as a result of a failure to pay other taxes.

A mechanic's lien is a security interest in the title to property for the benefit of those who have supplied labor or materials that improve the property. The lien exists for both real property and personal property. In the realm of real property, it is called by various names, including, generically, construction lien. The term "lien" comes from a French root, with a meaning similar to link, which is itself ultimately descended from the Latin ligamen, meaning "bond" and ligare, meaning "to bind". Mechanic's liens on property in the United States date from the 18th century.

In finance, a surety, surety bond, or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay one party a certain amount if a second party fails to meet some obligation, such as fulfilling the terms of a contract. The surety bond protects the obligee against losses resulting from the principal's failure to meet the obligation. The person or company providing the promise is also known as a "surety" or as a "guarantor".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bankruptcy in the United States</span>

In the United States, bankruptcy is largely governed by federal law, commonly referred to as the "Bankruptcy Code" ("Code"). The United States Constitution authorizes Congress to enact "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States". Congress has exercised this authority several times since 1801, including through adoption of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, as amended, codified in Title 11 of the United States Code and the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA).

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern civil procedure in United States district courts. They are the companion to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Rules promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling Act become part of the FRCP unless, within seven months, the United States Congress acts to veto them. The Court's modifications to the rules are usually based upon recommendations from the Judicial Conference of the United States, the federal judiciary's internal policy-making body.

Repossession, colloquially repo, is a "self-help" type of action in which the party having right of ownership of a property takes the property in question back from the party having right of possession without invoking court proceedings. The property may then be sold by either the financial institution or third party sellers.

In real estate business and law, a title search or property title search is the process of examining public records and retrieving documents on the history of a piece of real property to determine and confirm property's legal ownership, and find out what claims or liens are on the property. A title search is also performed when an owner wishes to sell mortgage property and the bank requires the owner to insure this transaction.

In Mechanics lien law a Preliminary Notice is a notice sent by the general contractor, subcontractor, materialmen, equipment lessors or other parties to a construction project not to create a Mechanics lien but rather to establish the right to file a Mechanics lien in the event of nonpayment. The distinction is important. If the Preliminary Notice is sent but the claimant's bill is paid, the Preliminary Notice has no further legal effect. However, if the bill is not paid the claimant may now file a Mechanics lien on the owner's property. Most states do not allow the filing of a Mechanics lien without claimants being able to prove they first sent a Preliminary Notice.

In the mechanics lien process, a lien waiver is a document from a contractor, subcontractor, materials supplier, equipment lessor or other party to the construction project stating they have received payment and waive any future lien rights to the property for the amount paid. There are typically four types of lien waivers:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tax sale</span>

A tax sale is the forced sale of property by a governmental entity for unpaid taxes by the property's owner.

Construction law is a branch of law that deals with matters relating to building construction, engineering, and related fields. It is in essence an amalgam of contract law, commercial law, planning law, employment law and tort. Construction law covers a wide range of legal issues including contract, negligence, bonds and bonding, guarantees and sureties, liens and other security interests, tendering, construction claims, and related consultancy contracts. Construction law affects many participants in the construction industry, including financial institutions, surveyors, quantity surveyors, architects, carpenters, engineers, construction workers, and planners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miller Act</span> US federal commerce legislation

The Miller Act requires prime contractors on some government construction contracts to post bonds guaranteeing both the performance of their contractual duties and the payment of their subcontractors and material suppliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Miller Act</span> State legislation in the United States

A "Little Miller Act" is a U.S. state statute, based upon the federal Miller Act, that requires prime contractors on state construction projects to post bonds guaranteeing the performance of their contractual duties and/or the payment of their subcontractors and material suppliers.

Retainage is a portion of the agreed upon contract price deliberately withheld until the work is complete to assure that contractor or subcontractor will satisfy its obligations and complete a construction project. A retention is money withheld by one party in a contract to act as security against incomplete or defective works. They have their origin in the Railway Mania of the 1840s but are now common across the industry, featuring in the majority of construction contracts. A typical retention rate is 5% of which half is released at completion and half at the end of the defects liability period. There has been criticism of the practice for leading to uncertainty on payment dates, increasing tensions between parties and putting monies at risk in cases of insolvency. There have been several proposals to replace the practice with alternative systems.

In Mechanics lien law a Texas Fund Trapping Notice is a preliminary notice that parties on construction projects who are not directly contracted with the owner send in order to preserve the right to file a mechanics lien in the event of nonpayment in Texas. This document is called a Fund Trapping Notice because its purpose is to inform the party making payment of the value of a contract to ensure that they retain sufficient funds to pay the party furnishing labor or materials.

References

  1. "Notice of Intent to File a Mechanics Lien". zlien. Retrieved 2015-11-23.