“Blood, sweat, and tears” is a generic phrase, but it’s exactly what contractors genuinely put into Florida construction projects. Construction workers are some of the hardest-working people among us, and they deserve to be paid for their work. Unfortunately, sometimes their paychecks come up short or wires get crossed which can result in a lien on the property being worked on.
A construction lien is a tool to protect the pay of those working on the project. We previously talked about how these work and briefly touched on the release of lien process, but we want to dive deeper into how you can get these liens released to cut any of the strings attached to a project or property.
Rights to Lien Cannot Be Waived
First and foremost, you won’t be able to go into a job without lien rights remaining intact. Florida law prevents construction workers from waiving these rights in order to protect them from unfair labor practices or negotiations. Florida law specifically states “a right to claim a lien may not be waived in advance. A lien right may be waived only to the extent of labor, services, or materials furnished. Any waiver of a right to claim a lien that is made in advance is unenforceable.”
If you are a construction worker and are being asked to waive this right or feel like an unwillingness to do so has cost you a contract, you should work with an attorney to recoup what you lost in the process.
Filing a Release of Lien
The official process of removing a lien will be through filing a release of lien. This is a common practice that will be used to confirm the circumstances that led to the lien either never happened, were misleading, or have been remedied and are no longer present.
In remedying the lien, there are two options: releasing the lien after a “progress payment” or after the unpaid amount has been paid in full. The statute linked above provides a specific form that can be used for these waivers:
WAIVER AND RELEASE OF LIEN
UPON PROGRESS PAYMENT
The undersigned lienor, in consideration of the sum of $ , hereby waives and releases its lien and right to claim a lien for labor, services, or materials furnished through (insert date) to (insert the name of your customer) on the job of (insert the name of the owner) to the following property:
(description of property)
This waiver and release does not cover any retention or labor, services, or materials furnished after the date specified.
DATED on , (year). (Lienor)
WAIVER AND RELEASE OF LIEN
UPON FINAL PAYMENT
The undersigned lienor, in consideration of the final payment in the amount of $ , hereby waives and releases its lien and right to claim a lien for labor, services, or materials furnished to (insert the name of your customer) on the job of (insert the name of the owner) to the following described property:
(description of property)
DATED on , (year). (Lienor)
Proving Timely And Accurate Payment
Of course, there’s a chance the lien wasn’t necessary in the first place. Construction companies should keep accurate and consistent records of all contracts, payment/draw schedules, draw requests, and actual payments. If you’re running a construction job and are able to prove that payments were actually made in a timely manner based on the contract that was signed then you can secure a lien release without requiring the other party to agree.At Florida Construction Law Group, we have worked with both sides of construction liens. We understand the perspective of contractors who haven’t been paid for their hard work, and we also know these can occasionally happen without merit. It’s important to ensure liens are only placed on property when necessary and that they’re remedied properly. Contact our firm if you need help filing or dealing with a construction lien.
