A lien on the improved property
A recorded, timely claim of lien attaches to the real property itself. For lienors not in privity with the owner, the total of all liens under one direct contract generally cannot exceed the contract price.
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Construction Pay Dispute Lawyer
Florida's lien statute rewards the party that served the right notice on the right day. We work out which dates you have met, which you have missed, and what claim is still open.
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Construction payment disputes
Whether a payment claim survives often depends on notices sent months ago.
Money owed for construction work can be collected through a lien, a payment claim, or a contract suit, and each has its own paperwork and clock.
A contractor who dealt directly with the owner, a subcontractor hired by that contractor, and a supplier to the subcontractor stand in different positions under Chapter 713, Florida Statutes. Privity with the owner decides which notices you owed.
The same statute protects owners. A lien claimed by someone who never served a required notice, or who recorded late, may be one the owner can defeat. We read the payment chain from the owner down, whichever end you stand on.
01
Find your place in the payment chain before anything else.
Who hired you, and whether the owner ever signed with you directly, decides whether a Notice to Owner was required. A missed notice can be a complete defense to a lien.
Before the dates pass
Pin down the dates, the paperwork and the chain of payment.
Payment claims are built from a handful of dates and documents. Gather them while everyone can still be found.
01 /
Write down first and last work dates
Lien deadlines run from when you started and when you last furnished labor, services or materials. Pull daily logs, delivery tickets and emails that show both dates.
02 /
Find the notice of commencement
Owners generally record a notice of commencement before work starts. It names the owner, the contractor, any surety on a payment bond and the lender, which tells you who to serve and who else may pay.
03 /
Collect what was signed and what was sent
Gather the contract, change orders, pay applications, invoices, lien waivers and any Notice to Owner with proof of delivery. Keep every waiver you signed, dated and complete.
04 /
Separate the disputed from the undisputed
List which amounts the other side admits it owes and which it contests. Florida's payment statute treats undisputed sums differently from contested ones.
Worried about the timing? Lien dates are short, and the 90-day recording window generally runs from your last furnishing of work or materials, not from the last conversation about payment. Call before the window closes.
What a payment claim can reach
Three separate routes to the same unpaid balance.
A construction lien, a claim under the payment statute, and a contract suit can each be available at once.
Pursuing one route does not always close the others, and the lien statute describes itself as cumulative to other existing remedies.
The payment-on-construction-contracts procedure
A person who supplied labor, services or materials may file a verified complaint about undisputed amounts unpaid more than 30 days, and seek an accounting, an injunction or attachment against the person who received payment, to the extent of the undisputed amount.
A suit on the contract itself
The right to sue for breach of the written agreement remains, and the prevailing party in a lien enforcement action or bond claim is entitled to a reasonable attorney's fee under the lien statute.
How the lien statute works
Serve, record, foreclose: three steps, each with its own deadline.
Chapter 713 makes the lien a creature of paperwork. Miss a step and the right can be lost, however clear the debt.
For a lienor not in privity with the owner, Section 713.06, Florida Statutes, requires a Notice to Owner served before starting work or within 45 days after starting, and in any event before the owner's final payment following the contractor's final affidavit. Failing to serve it, or serving it late, is stated to be a complete defense to enforcement of the lien. Laborers are excepted from that notice. Under Section 713.08, the claim of lien must be recorded no later than 90 days after final furnishing of labor, services or materials. Under Section 713.22, the lien does not last more than one year after recording unless an action to enforce it is filed in that time.
Chapter 713, Part I
What we check on every payment dispute
Four questions decide most lien and payment fights before anyone discusses the merits.
01
Were you in privity with the owner?
A lienor who was not in privity with the owner, other than a laborer, must have served the Notice to Owner to have an enforceable lien.
A lienor who was not in privity with the owner, other than a laborer, must have served the Notice to Owner to have an enforceable lien.
02
Was the claim of lien recorded in time?
Ninety days from the final furnishing of labor, services or materials is the outer limit, and the claim must contain the details the statute lists, sworn to by the lienor or an agent who knows the facts.
Ninety days from the final furnishing of labor, services or materials is the outer limit, and the claim must contain the details the statute lists, sworn to by the lienor or an agent who knows the facts.
03
Has the one-year enforcement window run?
An owner may also record a notice of contest that shortens the time to sue to 60 days after service, which extinguishes the lien automatically if no suit follows.
An owner may also record a notice of contest that shortens the time to sue to 60 days after service, which extinguishes the lien automatically if no suit follows.
04
What waivers were signed?
A right to claim a lien cannot be waived in advance, and a waiver can reach only labor, services or materials already furnished.
A right to claim a lien cannot be waived in advance, and a waiver can reach only labor, services or materials already furnished.
Accepting a note for the debt does not, by itself, waive the lien. The statute says accepting an unsecured note for part of the debt is not a waiver unless agreed in writing, and it does not affect the notice or recording periods.
How we work
Start with the payment chain and the calendar.
Owed money or being liened, we read the documents against the statute and choose the route first.
Talk with our team01
We rebuild the timelineFirst work, last work, each notice served and each waiver signed go on one calendar, so we know what is preserved and what is already gone.
02
We match the remedy to the factsLien, verified complaint, contract suit, or a defense to someone else's lien. Often more than one applies, and we sequence them.
03
We resolve it or fileMany disputes settle once a proper lien or a documented demand is on the table. Where they do not, we file suit.
A simpler way forward
Three steps, starting with your paperwork.
You do not need to know whether your lien is valid before you call. Bring what you have, even if it is incomplete.
01
Tell us about the job
Who hired whom, what was built, what was paid, and what is still owed.
02
Get a frank read on your position
We tell you which notices and dates look intact and what remains available.
03
Decide how to proceed
If you retain us, fees are discussed at the consultation and structured as no fee unless we recover. We handle the filings and the deadlines.
Already recorded a lien, or been served with one? Send us the recorded document and any Notice to Owner you have. The dates on those papers tell us a great deal quickly.
Payment dispute questions
Straight answers about liens, notices and unpaid balances.
What applies to you depends on where you sit in the chain and on the dates.
Ask us about your situation ↗What is a Notice to Owner and who has to send one?
It is a written notice that a lienor not in privity with the owner, other than a laborer, serves on the owner to perfect lien rights. Under Chapter 713, it must generally go out before work starts or within 45 days after starting. Late or missing notice can be a complete defense to the lien.
How long do I have to record a claim of lien?
The statute says the claim may be recorded during the work or afterward, but not later than 90 days after the lienor's final furnishing of labor, services or materials. Termination of the original contract can shorten that period in some situations.
I recorded a lien. Do I still have to sue?
Yes, in time. A lien does not continue longer than one year after recording unless an action to enforce it is commenced. An owner can also serve a notice of contest that cuts the time to sue to 60 days. Recording alone does not collect the money.
Can I collect if the lien deadline has passed?
Sometimes. The lien statute is described as cumulative to other remedies, so a claim on the contract may remain even where the lien is lost. Section 95.11 generally allows five years on a written contract and four on other contracts, with shorter periods for some claims, such as one year for payment-bond claims.
The owner says I already signed a waiver. Does that end my claim?
Not necessarily. A lien right cannot be waived in advance, and a waiver can reach only labor, services or materials already furnished. The wording, the date stated and what was paid in exchange all matter.
Proof and further reading
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