Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>I wanted to expend a Mechanics lien for account of private improvement

I wanted to expend a Mechanics lien for account of private improvement

Good Afternoon I am a subcontractor who filed a mechanics lien for account of private improvement thru your company last year - record date 10/31/2020. I want to extend the lien for another year. I was told this has to be done by a judge, I am trying to confirm if that is accurate. Job and lien were in New York. Also what does bonding a lien mean? Thank you Dina Platti Level Build 631-601-7459

1 reply

Sep 1, 2020

Extending a NY Mechanics Lien

The procedures for extending a NY mechanics lien are codified under NY Lien Law §17. This typically involves filing a simple document with the county clerk's office. However, I see from the information you provided that the project in question is a residential one. Under §17, there is an exception carved out for single-family dwellings. "A lien on real property improved or to be improved with a single-family dwelling may only be extended by an order of a court of record, or a judge or justice thereof." If the liened property is a single-family, residential property, then you have been informed correctly. Extending the lien will only be possible if you obtain a court order. You should consult with a local attorney to help you with this process, we have a few NY construction attorneys in our Expert Center Community you may want to reach out to personally.

For more on this see: Can You Extend a Mechanics Lien Claim in New York?

Bonding-off a mechanics lien

As far as "bonding-off a lien" this is a process available to property owners to remove the lien from the property. But stay calm, your mechanics lien rights will still be intact. The bonding off process only means the owner or GC is taking out a surety bond and filing it with the court. This will substitute the property with the bond, so your claim will be against the bond, instead of being attached to the property. This is a way that the property owner can remove the lien from the property title, but your rights will remain intact, and be paid out by the bond. Here are some additional resources on bonding-off liens:

0 people found this helpful

Helpful