I'm a subcontractor and worked on a private job in CA and our customer is not willing to pay. I threatened to file a lien but was told I couldn't because there wasn't a certificate of notice of occupancy, is this true?
The time period to record your lien is 90 days if there was no “notice of completion.” If there was a “notice of completion” you have 30 days from its recordation. I am not sure which you mean by “certificate of notice of occupancy" but it does not affect the right to file a lien within the prescribed timeframe.