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Payment being held

FloridaConstruction ContractLien Waivers

We have a GC that is holding payment until we provide them with executed contracts from our subcontractors. We have already provided them with notarized lien wiavers from our subs stating they are paid through the date of our pay app and we dont owe them anything. Are we obligated to provide their contracts as well?

1 reply

Oct 12, 2020

That sounds like a step too far. Generally, unless it's been agreed to in the contract, a subcontractor has no duty to give their GC copies of vendor and sub-sub contracts. If those parties have given final lien waivers, then there's nothing to worry about from the GC's end - and reviewing their contracts really wouldn't provide any additional benefit.

In fact, providing a GC with your vendor or sub-subcontractors contract could work against you. For one, the GC might try and renegotiate a lesser payment based on how much vendors or sub-subs were marked up. Or, they could even try to leapfrog you and pay those parties directly - then try and pay you some smaller amount. Finally, giving up your rates or margins by showing your vendor or subs contracts could also work against you for future projects and bids.

With that being said, your customer owes you what they owe you, regardless of whatever someone else's contract amount was. So, if you're comfortable showing them your agreements, then that might be perfectly fine. If the GC refuses to pay what's owed, tools like Notices of Intent , demand letters , mechanics liens, and legal claims could all help force payment.

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