We filed a lien in November, work was furnished last in May. They are saying we can’t have the lien in place and that they will due to have it removed since we missed the deadline by 3 months.
1 reply
Feb 19, 2020
In Texas, mechanics lien claimants must generally file a mechanics lien by the 15th day of the 4th month after the last month in which they furnished labor or materials to the project. However, for residential projects, the deadline is shortened to the 15th Day of 3rd month from last furnishing. For a project on which labor or materials were last furnished in May, the deadline to file a residential lien would be August 15, and the deadline to file a nonresidential lien would be September 15.
Mechanics lien laws are strictly interpreted, and if the deadline to file a mechanics lien is missed, the lien is generally rendered invalid and unenforceable.
In Texas, parties who contract directly with the property owner have a "Constitutional Lien" as well as a statutory mechanics lien. This Constitutional lien is self-perfecting, which means it doesn't specifically require recording in order to be effective, a recording will just provide notice to third parties that the property is subject to a lien claim. Accordingly, a claimant who contracted directly with the property owner may still be able to enforce a lien against the property even if the deadline to file a statuary mechanics lien was missed.