As part of our commercial law practice we often act in Builders Lien matters. They tend to have tight unforgiving deadlines. Some of the basics are set out in this article.
Who May File the Lien?
Under the Builders Lien Act a person who does or causes to be done any work on or in respect of an improvement, or furnishes any material in or in respect of an improvement has a lien for the value of the improvement. This lien may be registered against the estate or interest in land of the owner. The work has to be done for an owner, contractor or subcontractor.
Basically if you do work for someone which adds value to the land, at their request then you are entitled to a builders lien. A lien gives you priority over other creditors, which means it is likely you will be paid before other creditors.
Timing for Lien
Under section 41 of the Builders Lien Act, Liens have to be registered within 45 days of the furnishing of materials or abandonment of the contract. If they are not properly registered in that time, then the lien ceases to exist.
Timing for Lawsuit
Once the lien is registered, a lawsuit has to be started and a lis pendens registered against the land within 180 days or it ceases to exist.
If you are involved in a project and haven't been paid,
please contact us: https://www.flodenward.com/contact-us.
The information contained in this article is not legal advice. No solicitor client relationship is formed through this article. The reader is encouraged to retain counsel for advice in these matters.
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