Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>Original contractor on commercial job, Ohio, can I record a lien even though there has been no notice of commencement?

Original contractor on commercial job, Ohio, can I record a lien even though there has been no notice of commencement?

Property owner of a commercial building never filed a notice of commencement. Invoices are unpaid for work I performed. Can I just go ahead and file a mechanic's lien, or do I have to serve the owner with a request to file a notice of commencement and then file the notice of commencement myself if the owner fails to do so?

1 reply

Feb 19, 2020

Direct contractors in Ohio are not required to provide any preliminary notice prior to filing a mechanics lien. Ohio is one of the few states that requires a notice of commencement to be filed, but the failure to file a notice of commencement expands the ability of sub-tier participants to claim a valid and enforceable lien against the property, it doesn't restrict the ability to lien. While owners are required to file the NOC, direct contractors may file an NOC if the owner does not record a Notice of Commencement, by the later of 10 days after work begins or 3 days after a demand to file the Notice of Commencement. However, if a Notice of Commencement is not filed, it does not have any detrimental impact on the GC's (or anybody else's) ability to file a lien, it just means that subs and suppliers are no longer required to provide preliminary notice in order to retain lien rights, and any party can file a valid and enforceable lien, even without providing the notice or otherwise identifying themselves to the interested parties.

0 people found this helpful

Helpful