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If a General Contractor hires me as a sub for different trades, and I hire a sub for each trade, who sends the prelims

CaliforniaPreliminary Notice

a General Contractor hired me as a sub for 3 different trades on a commercial project and I hired a sub for each trade, does my sub send the prelim notice to me, and I send to owner and general? If my sub sent a prelim to the owner with the contract amount I had with them, my prelim will have a different contract amount, so how will that work?

1 reply

Mar 3, 2020

All subcontractors and suppliers must send a preliminary notice on a California construction project. So, a first-tier sub will need to send their own notices, and that subcontractor's own sub will need to send their own notices, too. As for who must receive preliminary notice: California 20-day preliminary notices must be sent to the property owner, to the GC, and to the lender (if a lender is present). And, to be sure, both a subcontractor and their sub-subcontractor would be required to send notice to all of those parties. For parties who are hired by someone other than the GC - it may make sense to send notice to their customers, but it isn't statutorily required. Finally, regarding the estimate for work: California preliminary notices must include the estimated price for the sender's work. While that can create some awkwardness and potentially reveal margins on the job, the estimate is still required. And, most parties to a construction project should understand that everyone working on the job is doing so to make money. And, to do that, the price of work will end up being marked up, to some degree, along the way.

California preliminary notice resources and guides

I hope this was helpful! Understandably, California's notice requirements can be a bit jarring and even burdensome at times. To make the requirements easier to navigate, here are some excellent resources on California's preliminary notice rules: - California Preliminary Notice Guide and FAQs - The Ultimate Guide to California’s 20-Day Preliminary Notice - California Preliminary Notice Legal Questions

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