Illinois....mechanic lien
Notification of home owners association?
Do I simply send a copy of the lien to the registered agent/attorney?
Do I assign the lien to the association as well as the property owner?
There are no subcontractors involved.
1 reply
Jan 2, 2020
Generally, a homeowner's association won't need to receive notice. Rather, notice must only need to go to the owner of the property. However, providing a homeowner's association with notice of a filed mechanics lien could be helpful in putting additional pressure on a customer to make payment. If the homeowner's association will be notified of the lien claim - then sending to their registered agent could be a good way to ensure they do, in fact, receive notice of the claim.
Regarding the lien, itself - mechanics liens are filed against the project property, not against any individual or organization. So, generally, a lien claim will name the owner of the property on it rather than the name of the homeowner's association. But, if the homeowner's association was also involved in the project to some degree, including their name on the lien document might make sense, too.
For more background on Illinois mechanics liens, here are some great resources:
- Illinois Mechanics Lien Guide and FAQs- How to File an Illinois Mechanics Lien – A Step by Step Guide to Get You Paid
Sending a Notice of Intent to Lien can help recover payment without an actual lien filing
Also, note that while direct contractors don't usually need to send a Notice of Intent to Lien to preserve their lien rights, it may still be valuable to do so. A Notice of Intent will provide the customer with one last chance to pay before a lien gets filed, and considering the drastic nature of lien claims, they'll usually want to avoid having a lien filed. Plus, that's usually a preferable road for a potential claimant to take, themselves.
More on that here: What Is a Notice of Intent to Lien and Should You Send One?