By Robert M. Baldwin | Baldwin Law, LLC | Volusia County, Florida
A certified envelope arrives during your home renovation. Inside is a Notice to Owner from a supplier you never hired. You have paid the contractor's invoices, and the work appears to be progressing. Why is another company contacting you?
Florida's construction lien law allows certain unpaid project participants to pursue payment against the improved property. Paying the contractor does not necessarily eliminate that exposure. A Notice to Owner deserves attention, but receiving one does not itself establish that anyone is unpaid or that you owe an additional amount.
This article addresses ordinary private home-improvement projects. Bonded projects, public work, and other special arrangements require separate analysis.
A notice is not a recorded lien
Subcontractors and suppliers may send these notices as a routine step to preserve potential lien rights. Section 713.06(2)(a), Florida Statutes, expressly states that a Notice to Owner is not a lien, cloud, or encumbrance on the property. A recorded Claim of Lien is a different document.
The notice identifies the sender, property, and services or materials involved. Add that participant to your payment-documentation process. The notice alone does not prove contractor misconduct or an enforceable claim.
Section 713.015 requires a lien warning in certain residential contracts. It explains that qualifying unpaid participants may look to the property even after the contractor has been paid. Statutory limits and proper-payment rules affect the owner's exposure; receiving a notice does not establish unlimited liability.
Check the project information first
Compare the notice with your contract, change orders, permit records, and recorded Notice of Commencement. Check the legal names, property identification, work description, and the contractor through whom the sender supplies labor or materials.
A Notice of Commencement serves a separate function under section 713.13: it records project information, including information used for notices. Check its effective period. Owner payments after its expiration are considered improper payments under the statute. A building permit does not replace the Notice of Commencement.
If information does not match, seek clarification using independently verified contact details. Preserve the original notice, envelope, tracking records, and receipt date. A paperwork discrepancy calls for verification rather than an assumption that the notice can be discarded.
Understand whose deadline is involved
For persons required to give a Notice to Owner under section 713.06(2)(a), service generally must occur before beginning, or within 45 days after beginning, to furnish labor, services, or materials. It must also occur before the date of the owner's final-payment disbursement after the contractor furnishes the statutory affidavit.
This is not a universal 45-day deadline for homeowners to answer. Laborers are excepted from this notice requirement, and recipient requirements depend on the sender's role.
Service rules also matter. Under section 713.18(2), a qualifying notice mailed within 40 days of first furnishing can be effective on the mailing date when the specified postal method, addressing, and recordkeeping requirements are met. That rule does not replace the general 45-day service deadline. Other service provisions may apply. Mailbox receipt alone cannot decide whether a notice was timely.
Match releases to the payment
Ask the contractor how identified subcontractors and suppliers will be paid and what releases will support the next payment. A contractor's invoice marked paid does not establish that everyone else received payment.
Section 713.20 addresses lien waivers and releases. Review the signer, property, amount or through-date, retention, and exceptions. A progress release does not automatically cover later work. For example, a release covering materials through September may leave October deliveries outside its scope. Florida also prohibits advance waivers of the right to claim a lien for work or materials not yet furnished.
A release exchanged for a check may expressly depend on the check being paid. Do not assume that receiving the signed paper establishes that its payment condition has been satisfied.
The statute prohibits requiring a lienor to use a form different from its statutory progress- or final-payment forms. Nevertheless, a signed nonstandard release can be enforceable according to its terms. Review the actual wording rather than assuming an unfamiliar form is ineffective.
Treat final payment as a separate checkpoint
Section 713.06(3)(d)5 requires the owner to retain final payment until the contractor furnishes the required affidavit. Compare that affidavit with your notices and releases.
Subparagraph (3)(d)4 permits reliance on the affidavit when making final payment unless notice-giving lienors have been omitted. Check for omissions and review any listed unpaid amounts before disbursing funds.
If parties remain unpaid or the contract balance appears insufficient, obtain advice before paying. Direct payments, deductions, and allocation among claimants involve statutory procedures. Paying whoever calls first may create further problems. Withholding disputed payments or terminating the contractor also requires consideration of the contract and applicable law.
Build a usable file before the next payment
Keep one folder containing the contract, change orders, Notice of Commencement, Notices to Owner, invoices, payment confirmations, releases, and affidavits. Maintain a list showing who supplied what, what has been paid, and which documents remain outstanding.
A recorded Claim of Lien or court papers require prompt review. If you would like to discuss whether I can assist with a Florida construction-payment issue, contact Baldwin Law at https://www.baldwincounsel.com/contact or 386-469-7777.
This article provides general information about Florida law, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Rights and obligations depend on the project, contracts, payment history, and applicable statutory requirements.
