Construction liens run on deadlines, and the deadlines do not care why you missed them. A contractor who records one day late loses the lien. An owner who ignores a lien for a year may find it has been foreclosed.
This is the area of Florida business law where being early matters more than being right.
The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. has handled Florida construction disputes and lien matters since 1998.
What a construction lien is
A construction lien attaches to real property when someone who improved that property has not been paid. It converts an unpaid invoice into a security interest in the property itself, which is why it works. The owner generally cannot sell or refinance cleanly until it is resolved.
Chapter 713 governs, and it is unforgiving about procedure. Courts routinely enforce its requirements strictly, because the lien is a powerful remedy granted in exchange for exact compliance.
> Substance does not rescue procedure here. A contractor genuinely owed money who missed a notice requirement can lose the lien entirely. The debt survives as a contract claim. The leverage does not.
If you are not in direct contract with the owner
Subcontractors and suppliers usually have to serve a notice to owner early in the job, before or shortly after beginning work. This tells the owner that someone they never hired is working on their property and may claim a lien.
Miss it, and the lien right is generally gone before any dispute has even started. This is the single most common way a valid claim dies.
If a lien has been filed on your property
You are not without options, and you should not simply wait.
Notice of contest of lien. Recording one dramatically shortens the lienor's window to file suit. Instead of having a year, they must sue within a much shorter statutory period or the lien is extinguished. This is often the fastest way to force resolution, and many owners do not know it exists.
Transfer the lien to a bond. This removes the lien from the property and substitutes a bond or cash deposit. Your title clears immediately and the fight continues against the bond instead of your real estate. If you are trying to close a sale or a refinance, this is usually the move.
Demand a sworn statement of account. You can require the lienor to itemize what they claim. Failure to respond properly has consequences for them.
Challenge the amount. Liens that include unapproved change orders, work never performed, or amounts beyond the contract are vulnerable.
Fraudulent liens
Florida treats a knowingly inflated or willfully exaggerated lien seriously. A lien found fraudulent is unenforceable in its entirety, not merely reduced to the correct figure, and the person who filed it can face liability including fees.
This cuts both directions. It is a real remedy for owners facing an abusive lien. It is also a serious risk for any contractor tempted to pad a claim to create leverage.
The lienor's checklist
- Notice to owner served on time, if you are not in direct contract
- Claim of lien recorded within the statutory window after your last work
- Copy of the recorded lien served on the owner
- Suit filed within one year of recording, unless shortened by a contest
- Amounts limited to work actually performed under the contract
- Final contractor's affidavit delivered where required
The owner's checklist
- Confirm the lienor actually performed work on your property
- Check whether the lien was recorded within the statutory window
- Check whether a notice to owner was required and served
- Compare the amount claimed to the contract and approved changes
- Consider a notice of contest to compress their deadline
- Consider transferring to bond if you need clear title now
- Do not pay twice: verify what your general contractor already paid down the chain
Related liens that are not construction liens
Not every lien on a property arises under the construction statute. A charging lien asserted by a former attorney over recovery in a case, a broker commission lien, and a condominium association lien all follow different rules and different deadlines. Do not apply construction lien procedure to them.
Common questions
Someone filed a lien on my property. What do I do? Determine whether it is procedurally valid, then decide between contesting it, transferring it to bond, or negotiating. Do not ignore it, and do not assume it expires on its own.
How do I remove a construction lien in Florida? By payment and release, by transfer to bond, by contest followed by the lienor's failure to sue in time, or by court order after challenging validity.
How do I remove a fraudulent lien from my property? By challenging it as willfully exaggerated. If proven, the entire lien fails and the filer may be liable.
Does a lien mean I have to pay immediately? No. It means your title is encumbered. It creates pressure, which is the point, but it does not by itself establish that the amount claimed is owed.
Deadlines are the whole case
Whichever side you are on, the calendar controls the outcome more than the merits do. If you have received a lien, or if you are owed money on a job and your window is running, the useful time to get advice is now.
Call the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. to discuss a Florida construction lien.
