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How long does a contractor have to file a lien.

A contractor threatened us with a lien over a month ago but has not filed one. They walked off of our job on a 203k loan on a two family renovation. We do not agree with what they have been paid nor what they’re demanding to be paid on E.g. they received 10,000 for a “new” roof in which the roof still leaks, and another 9,000 in plumbing for which a plumber told us there are at least 4 code violations that need to be addressed prior to inspection. How long do they have to file? And can we expedite the process?

1 reply

Aug 9, 2019

In New York, a mechanics lien arising from any project other than a single family residence must be filed "at any time during the progress of the work and the furnishing of the materials, or, within eight months after" the last furnishing of labor or materials.<br><br> If the project is on a single family residence, the deadline is shortened to 4 months. However, in the rare case the project involves the conversion of a multi-family structure to a single family residence, the 8 month deadline still applies. While property owners (or other interested parties) are allowed, in some states, to force a quicker deadline for the enforcement of a mechanics lien - that is different that allowing for the period in which a lien may be filed to be shortened. In New York, there is no specific provision allowing a lien filing deadline to be advanced. Despite this, a proactive lawsuit could potentially be filed against the contractor for breach of contract, which would force the contractor to make his claims. If this path is chosen, a lawyer should be retained to assist with looking at the totality of the situation and drafting the appropriate suit documents.

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