I'm a GC building on a custom 1M+ home. I've held back a partial payment to my concrete sub due to corrections that need to be completed. He has about 17k left unpaid on his contract and I'm concerned the corrections will cost more than that. He's alerted me that 2 subs of his (concrete supplier and rebar supplier) have not been paid and have let him know they intend to lien against the property. I've now paid both of his subs, but never received any prelim from either of them. How is this supposed to work? As the GC, aren't I supposed to receive a prelim from any sub working on the job? How do I protect myself in the future?
On a private project lower tier subcontractors and material suppliers only have lien rights if they serve preliminary notice within 20 days of commencing to perform work or supply materials. This notice must be sent to the Owner, GC, and Lender if any.
So based on the description above, neither the concrete supplier or rebar supplier had lien rights. Their threats to file liens were either empty or the liens would have been invalid. Unfortunately, the fact the liens are not valid may not have prevented the suppliers from filing the liens. It would just mean that they are ultimately not enforceable.