With the weather finally taking a turn for the better, it’s time for homeowners to start making home improvements. If you are a contractor or sub-contractor working on someone’s home, you may have mechanics lien rights for the work you perform. However, in order to make your mechanics lien rights enforceable, you must comply with the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act, particularly the notice provisions of that Act.

A contractor working directly with the homeowner does not have to provide any initial notice to the homeowner regarding its mechanics lien rights because the homeowner knows, or should know, it is entering into a contract with the contractor. However, a general contractor, to have what we call a “super” priority, must record its mechanics lien against the property where the work was done within four months of completing work on the property. If the mechanics lien is recorded more than four months after completion of work on the property, then the contractor’s mechanics lien will be lower in priority to any mortgages on the property, making enforcement of the mechanics lien more difficult.

Sub-contractors, generally those who have a contract with the general contractor but not the owner, have different notice provisions. A sub-contractor must provide a notice of mechanics lien claim to the property’s owner within 90 days of either entering into a contract with the general contractor or of completing work on the property. For practical reasons, it is best to serve the 90 day notice of mechanics lien claim on the property owner as soon as possible after entering into a contract with the general contractor. Additionally, if the property the sub-contractor is working on is an owner-occupied single family residence, the sub-contractor must provide the property owner with a notice of mechanics lien claim within 60 days of first furnishing materials or labor to the property. A sub-contractor’s failure to comply with these notice provisions can render his mechanics lien claim null and void, which is a severe penalty.