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can i file a m. lien if my company did a roof replacement for GM who assured me there is already building permit?

Im a licensed illinois roofing contractor, last year we did a bunch of roof jobs for a GC without any issues, last job for him we did in november/december, we did not personally pull the building permit from the village for this job,but GC assured me there is already a permit since he did more interior and exterior work on this residential property - i have a written proof( - phone messaging), now he does not want to pay for this job, can i still file a mechanic lien if there was a no building permit with my company name or maybe there was no permit at all?

1 reply

Feb 5, 2020

The Illinois mechanics lien statute is completely silent as to building permits - and, the right to lien, at least as laid out by the statute, shouldn't be affected by the GC's failure to pull a building permit. So, where a GC has lied about pulling permits, that GC's sub should still be entitled to lien. Of course, keep in mind that Illinois has some specific notice requirements which must be followed in order to preserve the right to lien. Specifically, claimants hired by someone other than the owner will generally need to send preliminary notice and Notice of Intent to Lien in order to preserve their lien rights. And, as discussed in the following article, a Notice of Intent to Lien is a powerful payment recovery tool in its own right: What Is a Notice of Intent to Lien and Should You Send One? Finally, note that other recovery tools - like sending invoice reminders or demand letters - can help with payment recovery before the dispute snowballs out of control and a lien becomes necessary. Mechanics liens do have their place, though, and for more detail on filing Illinois lien claims, these resources should be valuable: (1) Illinois Mechanics Lien Guide and FAQs; and (2) How to File an Illinois Mechanics Lien – A Step by Step Guide to Get You Paid.

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