Can we file a lien against an apartment complex in Washington State for cleaning up a trauma scene where a tenant died? The man’s son hired our company, not the apartment complex, to clean up his father’s remains but his dad’s renters insurance is denying coverage and the son is saying he doesn’t have the money to pay. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Thank you for the insight Sarah, the man's son is the executor of his father's estate. If he hired us in that capacity, which he did, would we then have lien rights?
Also, it sounds like I am completely misunderstanding the purpose of the preliminary notice of right to claim lien. I was under the impression that if we did work on a property in Washington and the owner knew or should have known that we were materially improving the property, that they would be subject to a potential lien in the event that whoever hired us didn't pay provided that we sent a timely notice of right to claim lien to the owner. Am I off the mark there?
Would we be limited to restitution for unjust enrichment instead of being able to place a lien if someone other than the property owner or the tenant hired us?
Thanks!
I agree with Sarah that the simple and most likely answer is: No, when work is done for a tenant, mechanics liens against the owner generally aren't available. And, as Sarah mentioned above, a lien against the tenant's interest is likely not very useful where the tenant has actually passed away.
Levelset discusses mechanics liens and tenant improvements in further detail, here: Construction Lien Rights When a Project is a Tenant Improvement. As mentioned in that article, sometimes a lien might be available against the owner's interest if the tenant has improved the property as the agent of the owner or if the owner is otherwise heavily involved in the improvement. Still, those are generally exceptions to the rule that liens may attach to the tenant's interest but typically won't attach against the owner.
However, if the lease requires the tenant to perform the improvement, or if the landlord is part of the agreement, then a lien against the owner might be on the table. Further discussion here in an article from Scott Sleight : Washington Lien Rights for Tenant Improvements | ACS Lawyers.