Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>does the NTO from the material supplier with our company info on it constitute notice that we are working on the project?
does the NTO from the material supplier with our company info on it constitute notice that we are working on the project?
we are not getting paid on a job and we failed to sent a NTO from our company but our supplier sent thiers
1 reply
Apr 15, 2019
In Florida, a Notice to Owner is required to be sent within 45 days from the first day of furnishing labor or materials. This is a strict requirement that, if not met, will be fatal to a lien claim. The only exceptions to this are parties that contracted directly with the owner, individual wage-laborers and architects/engineers/design professionals. As for whether an NTO sent by your company's material supplier "covers" your preliminary notice requirements, the answer is, unfortunately, no. It doesn't matter if your company's information is on it or not, the supplier's NTO only preserves their lien rights. This is not an uncommon question, we actually wrote a whole article on the subject; Are You Covered By Your Material Supplier's Preliminary Notice?
However, there's no reason not to send a notice anyway. Regardless if you actually have the ability to file a claim or not. Preliminary notices serve more functions than just preserving your lien rights. Notices can also help promote visibility on the project by letting the owner know who you are, and what services you are providing on the project. Which ideally can result in you getting paid faster. Sending a notice, (even if late and invalid for mechanics lien purposes) is always better than sending none at all. For an in-depth look at this issue you can read: What Do I Do if I Miss a Preliminary Notice Deadline? For additional resources check out the Florida Lien & Notice Overview page.