Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>I am a non construction handyman company. A customer has asked me to provide electrical services that my company can not. I've arranged for an electrician on their behalf. Since the customer will be paying my company and I will be paying the electrician, am I legally able to do that? Can I obtain a lien waiver to make my customer happy?
I am a non construction handyman company. A customer has asked me to provide electrical services that my company can not. I've arranged for an electrician on their behalf. Since the customer will be paying my company and I will be paying the electrician, am I legally able to do that? Can I obtain a lien waiver to make my customer happy?
Need to know if my type of company qualifies to use a conditional lien in Florida
1 reply
Nov 15, 2018
There's a lot going on here - but I'll try to address each issue. First, in order for lien rights to exist in Florida, a claimant must be licensed to perform the work they do on the project. While Florida is home to certain handyman exceptions to licensure (more on that here), electrical work must be performed by a party licensed to do so. If the actual work requiring licensure was performed by a licensed party, but the party who hired them was unlicensed, it's a little unclear as to whether the hiring party requires any licensure. Plus, in Florida, licensure requirements vary greatly from county to county. For more clarity there, it may be helpful to reach out to a local construction attorney for advice on whether the work provided would require licensure. Regarding lien waivers - a lien waiver could certainly be requested of a lower-tiered party to put the property owner at ease. When there have been no payment problems on a job, typically, obtaining lien waivers shouldn't be too much of a headache. You can learn more about Florida lien waivers here: Florida Lien Waiver Forms and Guide. Finally, as to whether lien rights would be available to a party hired directly by the property owner who subs out the work to another party - while electrical work will often give rise to lien rights, whether lien rights are available will depend on whether proper notice was sent, whether the deadline to file a lien has passed, and whether licensure was required. For more information on Florida notices and lien requirements (including deadlines), the zlien Florida Lien and Notice FAQs should provide some helpful information.