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Can you file a notice of intent to lien to a business operating from their home when work was not performed at their home?

ColoradoNotice of Intent to Lien

I have a client that owes us for about a year. She operates her business from her home that she rents. She ordered steel products for the products she sells to clients around the US, and she always picked them up in our shop/office. Can we field a notice of intent to lien based on her mailing address that is her home she rents? Or is the only way to collect money to enforce a lawsuit?

1 reply

May 8, 2018

That's an interesting question. First, it should be noted that a potential mechanics lien claim would attach to the property where the project is located for which work has been performed - not to the property of the nonpaying party (unless they're also the property owner). This means that the lien laws of the state where the project is located are the laws that apply. Assuming this is a Colorado project and that the Colorado lien laws apply, notice must be made to the owner of the property that will be liened as well as the prime contractor of the project. Obviously, if the party who hired a claimant is the prime contractor, that hiring party will have to receive the Notice of Intent to Lien. If a claimant was not hired by the prime contractor, the hiring party won't be a required recipient of a Notice of Intent to Lien. However, it's likely a good idea for a claimant to also send a copy of the Notice of Intent to Lien to their hiring party - notifying that party that a lien will be filed is a good way to speed up payment (even though they'll likely be feeling pressure from the higher-tiered parties on the project anyway). Regardless of whether notice is required or not required to be sent to an individual party, sending the notice to the location of their last known address (even if that address is both their home and business address) will satisfy the statutory requirement (when sent by certified mail, return receipt requested). If the project is not a Colorado project, a Notice of Intent to Lien is likely not a required document - only a handful of states require a Notice of Intent to Lien prior to a lien filing. However, send a Notice of Intent even when not required is good practice, and it can lead to the resolution of a payment dispute before a lien filing becomes necessary. More on that, here: What Is A Notice of Intent to Lien (And Should You Send One)?

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