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Skipped the preliminary 60 day notice

I have sent a notice of intent to lien to all parties as required by Illinois law. What I didn't do, was send the 60 day preliminary notice for an owner occupied project (which this was). My question is do I still have to/ or should I send the 60 day preliminary notice even though I have a ready sent a notice of intent ?

1 reply

Sep 11, 2017

Short answer: The 60-day preliminary notice is a requirement for certain parties in certain situations, and should be sent if required.

Longer Answer: All parties not in direct contractual relation with the property owner (or owner’s agent) and who provided labor or materials to an owner-occupied residence must provide a 60-Day Notice. This notice must be sent within 60 days from first furnishing labor or materials to the project, and should be sent by certified mail return receipt requested with delivery restricted to the addressee only. However, if the 60-day window is missed, it's not necessarily the end of the world for lien rights. If a party fails to provide the 60-Day notice when required, that party’s lien rights are waived to the extent of any payments made by the owner to the prime contractor prior to receiving the notice.

(For example, if a subcontractor has a lien claim of $10,000, but fails to give the required 60-Day notice, and the amount remaining to be paid to the prime contractor on the original contract is only $5000, the subcontractor has lost his right to the remaining $5000 of his claim.)

Accordingly, it is best practice to send the 60-day notice within the general deadline. But, if that is missed, it's best practice to send the notice as soon as it is realized the notice deadline was missed.

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