Mechanics liens in Contra Costa County
For property owners facing a lien or a preliminary notice, and for contractors, subcontractors and suppliers who have not been paid, from an office in Point Richmond.
This page gives general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The dates below are summaries. Whether a deadline has run depends on the facts of the project, so have the specific statute and your documents reviewed before relying on any of it.
What a mechanics lien is
A mechanics lien is a claim recorded against real property by someone who supplied labor, services or materials to improve it and has not been paid. California’s rules are in the Mechanics Lien Law, which begins at Civil Code section 8000. A recorded lien can cloud title, which can complicate a sale or refinance, and a claimant who does not follow the statute’s steps and deadlines can lose the lien.
For property owners
A preliminary notice is not a lien. It tells the owner that a contractor, subcontractor or supplier has furnished work and may record a lien if it is not paid. A recorded claim of lien is different: it attaches to the property. In either case, useful questions include whether the claimant gave notices on time, whether the amount claimed matches the work, whether the claimant was licensed, and whether the owner has already paid someone further up the chain.
- Reviewing the contract, change orders, payment records and notices
- Checking the claimant’s timing against the statute
- Negotiating a payment, a release or a settlement
- Release of the property by recording a lien release bond, and defending a suit to enforce the lien
For contractors, subcontractors and suppliers
Lien rights are preserved by early paperwork. Keep contracts, change orders, delivery tickets, invoices and daily records, and calendar the dates below as soon as the job starts rather than when payment stops. The office helps claimants prepare and serve preliminary notices, record claims of lien, and file suit to enforce a lien or pursue payment through other remedies. See also construction law.
The main deadlines, in outline
- Preliminary notice. Many claimants must give notice no later than 20 days after first furnishing work. A late notice generally protects only work performed within the 20 days before it was served, and afterward (Civil Code section 8204).
- Claim of lien: direct contractors. Recorded after the contractor completes the direct contract and before the earlier of 90 days after completion of the work of improvement or 60 days after the owner records a notice of completion or cessation (section 8412).
- Claim of lien: other claimants. Recorded after the claimant stops providing work and before the earlier of 90 days after completion or 30 days after the owner records a notice of completion or cessation (section 8414).
- Suit to enforce. Generally within 90 days after the claim of lien is recorded, unless the claimant and owner agree to extend credit and record notice of the extension. If the claimant does not sue in time, the lien expires (section 8460).
- Lien release bond. An owner or an affected contractor can release the property by recording a bond for 125 percent of the lien amount. The claimant then has six months after notice of the bond to sue on it (section 8424).
Claims are recorded with the county recorder where the property is located, which for Richmond is Contra Costa County. Missing a step can eliminate a remedy entirely, so call early.
How the office helps
Daniel R. Butt is a California attorney (since 2012) who also holds a California contractor’s license, and he handles construction payment disputes for owners and contractors in Richmond, West Contra Costa County and the East Bay. The contractor’s license is a credential of the attorney. The law firm does not act as a general contractor or perform construction work. Results depend on the facts of each matter, and the office does not promise outcomes.
Talk with the office
Call (510) 255-1094, email daniel@buttlaw.com, or use the contact form. The office at 111 Park Place, Suite 204, in Point Richmond is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please do not send confidential details until the firm has confirmed in writing that it represents you.