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Can I lien if I didn't pre lien 30 day after We started the project Thank You

I haven't been paid due to a conflict between the building owner and the City of San Leandro

1 reply

Jul 24, 2019

In California, all parties on a construction project (other than wage laborers) must provide preliminary notice in order to retain the ability to file a valid and enforceable lien. On private projects, parties who contract directly with the property owner only need to send this notice to the lender, if there is one. On public projects, parties who contract directly with the public entity do not have bond claim rights, so no notice is applicable.

All parties who are required to send notice must send the preliminary notice within 20 days of first furnishing labor or materials to the project in order to have the full value of their work or materials covered by lien rights. However, the notice can be sent later. In fact, in California, notice can be sent at any time, provided not more than 20 days have passed since the last date on which the party providing notice last furnished labor or materials. A "late" notice works to protect the value of the labor or materials furnished from the date 20 days prior to the date on which the notice was sent. If a preliminary notice is never sent, it is fatal to lien rights in California, but to the extent that there was labor or material furnished within the last 20 days, those amounts could likely still be protected and a valid lien filed to protect payment.

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