Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>what if city hasn't posted bond on job but ordered preliminary work on award form? I need to file the lien on the property so I will use the owner as something else for the form?
what if city hasn't posted bond on job but ordered preliminary work on award form? I need to file the lien on the property so I will use the owner as something else for the form?
Most public jobs require a bond to be posted. This is because liens cannot be filed against public property (the government won't allow their property to be foreclosed on). Because there is no lien remedy against the property itself, but there is still the same public policy mandating that parties who furnish labor or material to the project should still have protection against nonpayment, bonds are required to be provided as a substitute security.
Note, however, that the bond (if required on the project) is to be provided by the direct contractor (GC) not the public entity itself.
On public projects in California, the available remedies are a stop notice, or a bond claim. Parties who do not contract directly with the public entity must provide a preliminary notice in order to maintain rights to make a claim against the bond or send a stop notice. In order to fully protect all furnishing of labor or materials to the project, the preliminary notice must be sent within 20 days of first furnishing. If the preliminary notice is sent late, it is effective to protect the labor or materials furnished beginning 20 days prior to the date on which the notice was given.
In order to make the claim itself, there are additional rules that must be followed. A bond claim must be provided to the surety and to the general contractor. The claim must be provided by certified or registered mail, (or by personal service). A stop notice against the contract funds must be filed with the director of the department that entered into the contract (if the project was a state project), or filed with the controller, auditor, or other disbursing officer, (or with the commissioners or managers) of the managing body that awarded the contract (for any non-state public project).