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If I’m not given an estimate, can a water remediation company file a mechanic’s lien?

ArizonaMechanics Lien

We had a water remediation company come out and they indicated they couldn’t give us an estimate for the work until the work was done and that was industry practice. What we thought would be $2500 turned into an invoice of $7200. It’s outrageously high, but they did not give us an estimate or detail what they were going to do and does not seem appropriate for the amount of work they did. I did sign something that looks more like a waiver to protect them if they damage our property. There’s language about payment, legal fees, mechanic’s lien, etc. But is this a contract since they did not give me an estimate? Can they file a mechanic’s lien?

1 reply

Oct 2, 2021

The short answer to your question is that there is not enough money at stake to make it worth it to find out the answer to this question. And the failure to send the estimate does not affect whether there are mechanic's lien rights. But here are a few angles you can take. (1) only licensed contractors can record mechanic's liens. Check the Arizona Registrar of Contractors to see whether they have a contractor's license. (2) If the place where they worked is owner occupied residential property, then there must be a written contract with the owner otherwise no mechanic's lien. Based upon your explanation, it looks like they have a written contract. (3) They must have timely sent a valid preliminary 20-day notice that complies with the requirements set forth in the mechanic's lien statute. No preliminary 20-day notice, no mechanic's lien. (4) There is an interesting potential issue with whether water remediation is the kind of work that qualifies for mechanic's lien rights, which usually only applies to improvements to the land that increase the value of the land. But that would cost an arm and a leg in attorneys' fees to fight about it in court. Not a good investment of money. (4)

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