Hello I am a subcontractor I got hired from general contractor to do a railing job on 12/21/22 and I finished it at 01/06/23 After I asked the general contractor for the payment he told me you still have to do some touchups and I went there and there is another painter over there doing my job without asking me to do it without the permission to do it so if my job is not finished yet then the general contractor he say the homeowner is not paying any money and a general contractor ask me to file a preliminary notice but I already passed the time so I don’t know how to get paid now Can you help me please thank you
Unfortunately, because more than 20 days has passed since you completed your work it is too late to send preliminary notice to secure lien rights against the homeowner directly. But the general contractor still has lien rights against the homeowner and should be asserting these rights in order to secure payment for itself as well as you. Your rights to payment are contractual and the general contractor is contractually obligated to pay you. If the GC fails to do so, you can file a small claims action or civil action against the GC depending on the amount owed.