What Is a Construction Lien and How Do I Remove It?

A construction lien is a claim recorded against your property by a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who says they were not paid for work on it. Under Chapter 713, Florida Statutes, the lien expires after 1 year unless the lienor sues, and an owner can remove it sooner by payment and release, a Notice of Contest, a court order, or a bond.

What a Construction Lien Is Under Florida Law

Florida’s Construction Lien Law, Part I of Chapter 713 (Fla. Stat. §§ 713.001 through 713.37), gives people who improve real property a way to secure payment against the property itself. Contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, material suppliers, laborers, and certain design professionals can all be lienors. Many people still call it a mechanic’s lien; the statute calls it a construction lien.

A part that surprises many homeowners is that a lien can be filed by someone they never hired. If you paid your general contractor in full but the contractor did not pay the roofing subcontractor or the window supplier, that unpaid company may be able to lien your home. That is why Florida requires every direct contract over $2,500 for a one-to-four-unit home to carry a bold, capitalized warning under Fla. Stat. § 713.015 explaining that people who work on your property and are not paid in full can enforce their claim against it, even if you have paid your contractor.

A recorded claim of lien is a cloud on title. It shows up in a title search, it can hold up a sale or refinance, and if the lienor files suit within the deadline, it can be foreclosed like a mortgage. Florida’s homestead protection does not stop it: the Florida Constitution, Article X, Section 4, excludes obligations for the improvement or repair of the homestead from the forced-sale exemption.

The Deadlines That Make or Break a Lien

A construction lien is only as good as the lienor’s compliance with Chapter 713’s deadlines, and those deadlines are where many liens fail.

• Notice to Owner (45 days). A lienor who did not contract directly with you, such as a subcontractor or supplier, must serve a Notice to Owner before starting work or within 45 days after first furnishing labor, services, or materials, and in any event before your final payment to the contractor (Fla. Stat. § 713.06(2)(a)). Failing to serve it, or serving it late, is a complete defense to the lien, subject to the statute’s prejudice rules.
• Recording the claim of lien (90 days). The claim of lien must be recorded in the county clerk’s office no later than 90 days after the lienor’s final furnishing of labor, services, or materials (Fla. Stat. § 713.08(5)).
• Serving the claim on you (15 days). The lienor must serve the claim of lien on the owner before recording or within 15 days after recording; a failure that prejudices the owner makes the lien voidable (Fla. Stat. § 713.08(4)(c)).
• Contractor’s final payment affidavit. A contractor in privity with the owner must deliver a final payment affidavit at least 5 days before suing to enforce its lien (Fla. Stat. § 713.06(3)(d)).
• Filing suit (1 year). A lien does not last longer than 1 year after the claim of lien is recorded unless an action to enforce it is filed within that time (Fla. Stat. § 713.22(1)).

Whether a missed deadline actually defeats a particular lien depends on the facts, including who the lienor contracted with and what the owner knew. A lawyer reviewing a lien will usually start by lining up these dates against the recorded documents.

How the Notice of Commencement Protects Owners

Before starting an improvement with a direct contract price over $2,500, the owner must record a Notice of Commencement with the clerk and post a copy at the job site (Fla. Stat. §§ 713.13(1)(a) and 713.02(5)). The notice identifies the property, the owner, the contractor, any surety, and the lender, and it tells subcontractors and suppliers where to send their Notices to Owner. Unless it states a different date, it expires 1 year after recording, and payments made after it expires are treated as improper payments.

The notice matters because Florida law distinguishes between proper and improper payments. An owner who pays the contractor without following Chapter 713, for example by making final payment without first getting the contractor’s final payment affidavit and releases from the lienors who served notice, can end up paying the same bill twice: once to the contractor and again to the unpaid subcontractor or supplier. The practical habits that prevent this are simple: keep every Notice to Owner you receive, require a lien release from each of those lienors before you pay the draw that covers their work, and do not make final payment until you have the contractor’s final payment affidavit. Releases and waivers follow the statutory forms in Fla. Stat. § 713.20.

How to Remove a Construction Lien in Florida

Fla. Stat. § 713.21 lists the ways a lien can be discharged, and §§ 713.22 and 713.24 add tools that owners commonly use:

• Pay and get a recorded release. If the debt is valid, paying it in exchange for a satisfaction or release of lien signed by the lienor, notarized, and recorded with the clerk is the most direct path (§ 713.21(1) and (2)). Do not pay without getting the release in recordable form.
• Record a Notice of Contest of Lien. An owner or the owner’s attorney may record a Notice of Contest of Lien, which the clerk serves on the lienor. The lienor then has 60 days from service to file suit to enforce the lien, or the lien is extinguished automatically (§ 713.22(2)).
• File an action for an order to show cause. Any interested party can file a complaint asking the circuit court to issue a summons requiring the lienor to show cause within 20 days why the lien should not be enforced or cancelled. If the lienor does not show cause or file suit by the return date, the court orders the lien cancelled (§ 713.21(4)).
• Transfer the lien to a bond or cash deposit. Anyone with an interest in the property can move the lien off the real estate by depositing money with the clerk or filing a surety bond equal to the amount demanded, plus interest at the legal rate for 3 years, plus $5,000 or 25 percent of the amount demanded, whichever is greater, for attorney fees and costs (§ 713.24(1)). The dispute continues against the security, but the property is free to sell or refinance.
• Let the deadline run. If the lienor does not file an enforcement action within 1 year of recording, the lien is discharged by operation of law (§§ 713.21(3), 713.22(1)). A title company may still want a court order or other proof before insuring over it.
• Win the enforcement lawsuit. If the lienor sues, a judgment in your favor, recorded with the clerk, discharges the lien (§ 713.21(5)).

Which tool fits depends on your goal. A Notice of Contest is inexpensive and fast but invites a lawsuit. A bond transfer costs a premium but clears title right away, which is often the deciding factor when a closing date is approaching.

Fraudulent Liens and Attorney Fees

Chapter 713 penalizes lienors who abuse it. Under Fla. Stat. § 713.31(2), a lien is fraudulent if the lienor willfully exaggerated the amount, willfully included work not performed or materials not furnished, or prepared the claim with such willful and gross negligence that it amounts to willful exaggeration. A fraudulent lien is a complete defense to enforcement, the owner can sue for damages, and the statute allows the prevailing party to recover attorney fees. Willfully filing a fraudulent lien is also a third-degree felony under § 713.31(3). The statute is careful to say that a minor mistake or a good-faith dispute over the amount due is not a willful exaggeration.

Fees cut both ways in ordinary lien cases as well. In any action to enforce a construction lien, including one transferred to a bond, the prevailing party is entitled to a reasonable attorney fee (Fla. Stat. § 713.29). That makes it worth evaluating the lien carefully before choosing whether to pay, contest, or bond it.

Construction Liens on Miami-Dade Property

In Miami-Dade County, Notices of Commencement and claims of lien are recorded in the Official Records maintained by the Clerk of the Court and Comptroller, and lien enforcement and show-cause actions are filed in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. With frequent renovations, roof replacements, and post-storm repairs, a title search on a Miami-Dade home or condo can turn up a claim of lien, sometimes one the owner never knew about because it came from a supplier to the contractor.

Timing is the usual pressure point. A lien that surfaces two weeks before a closing may not leave room for a negotiated payoff or a 60-day Notice of Contest, which is why sellers and buyers may turn to a bond transfer under § 713.24 to keep the sale on schedule. If a lien has appeared on your title, bring the claim of lien, your contract, any Notices to Owner you received, and proof of what you paid. Those documents are what a lawyer needs to tell you whether the lien is valid, late, or overstated.

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