Last week, someone in Oregon posted a question on Avvo.com inquiring whether a mechanics lien can be filed against a non-profit project – specifically a Habitat for Humanity project. This is a frequently asked question because the non-profit nature of these projects can create confusion.  What type of project is it?  Can you lien an organization that has non-profit status?

This post answers these questions with a simple and resounding yes.

A Non-Profit Doesn’t Get Special Legal Treatment  Under Mechanics Lien Laws

Non-Profit organizations get special tax treatment, but they do not get special legal treatment. They must follow the laws like any other commercial enterprise, and that is especially true for mechanics lien claims.

We wrote about the non-profit’s susceptibility to mechanics lien claims in Can You File A Mechanics Lien Against A Non-Profit?  In that post, we explained that a non-profit project is simply a commercial construction project, subject to mechanics lien claims as if it were a McDonald’s building.

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Habitat for Humanity is a great charity. In fact, I’ve previously done some volunteering for the organization. Nevertheless, if they owed money for materials or labor, the parties owed the cash would be able to assert a lien claim against the property.

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