Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>as a homeowner and client, should I ask for a lien waiver or release of lien from my roofing company the primary contractor?
as a homeowner and client, should I ask for a lien waiver or release of lien from my roofing company the primary contractor?
Had roof redone entirely due to hurricane Irma. Contracted a roofing company and about to make final payment, need to know if they are required to issue a release of lien or lien waiver or a simple receipt upon receiving final payment
1 reply
Sep 24, 2018
It's always a good idea for homeowners to take stock of their projects and evaluate any potential lien exposure. To fully protect against liens being filed against the property, an owner may collect lien waivers from all project participants - each party throughout the payment chain from he direct contractor to the suppliers and laborers. On projects like a roofing project, there may be less parties (or even a single party) involved from whom a waiver needs to be collected as compared to something like an addition or new construction project.
An owner may require a potential lienor to execute a waiver or release of lien in exchange for, or to induce payment of the final payment, on a project. The form for such a waiver is set out by statute (see more at § 713.20 here: https://www.zlien.com/mechanics-lien/florida-lien-statute/).
While collecting lien waivers is good practice, both during and at the end of the project, in a practical sense it is generally unlikely that a lien would be filed after final payment is made when there is only one contractor on the job.