Source: https://www.zlien.com/mechanics-lien/alabama-lien-law-faqs/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 02:53:36+00:00

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It’s easy to file Alabama mechanics liens with zlien, the web’s leading all-in-one mechanics lien compliance manager and security platform. Plus, the Levelset platform can help you prepare and file mechanics lien cancellations, preliminary notices, and more. To learn more about Alabama’s mechanics lien law, read the information below.
Must be filed within 6 months after the last item of work or labor has been performed. Suit to commence / enforce lien is due 6 months after debt becomes due. File your Alabama lien online now.
If there is not direct contract with owner, a Notice of Unpaid Lien must be provided to owner before a claimant may file a lien. While not necessarily required, sending a Notice to Owner will provide Alabama claimants greater protection. Alabama law does not specify how long prior to performance a Notice to Owner must be sent. However, for those supplying materials only, providing a Notice to Owner prior to supplying any materials may work to obtain the same lien rights as a general contractor.
Must be filed 4 months after last providing materials or labor. Laborers must file within 30 days after last providing labor. Suit to commence / enforce due 6 months after debt becomes due. File your Alabama lien online now.
If there is not direct contract with owner, a Notice of Unpaid Lien must be provided to the owner before filing for lien. If a supplier of materials only, may provide Notice to Owner prior to supplying materials to obtain the same lien rights as a general contractor.
Must be filed 4 months after last providing materials or labor. Suit to commence / enforce due 6 months after debt becomes due. File your Alabama lien online now.
Alabama law does not require an “original contractor” to send a preliminary notice. An original contractor is the party who contracted directly with the owner.
For everyone else, there are a few things to know about notices.
First, anyone who did not contract with the owner must deliver a Notice of Unpaid Lien to the property owner. Alabama law does not specify the time by which this notice must be received by the property owner — only noting that it must be before filing the lien.
Second, however, a special optional rule exists for material suppliers, whereby these parties may file a Notice to Owner Prior to Performance (also known as “Notice to Owner Before Work”) to obtain the same lien rights as an “original contractor.” To gain the advantage offered by this notice, however, the material supplier must file it prior to furnishing materials.
An Unpaid Balance Lien is available to parties without a contract with the owner and is only effective to money actually in the hands of the owner at the time the Notice of Unpaid Lien is delivered to the property owner.
A Full Price Lien is a lien in favor of general contractors or others in direct contact with the owner, OR materialmen who gives a Notice to Owner PRIOR to furnishing materials to the project.
Mechanics lien claims do not last forever.
Alabama mechanics lien law requires that a mechanic’s lien be enforced within 6 months from the date the entire amount became due. If this 6-month period passes without an action being filed to enforce the lien, the lien expires. This period is the same time period in which a prime contractor’s lien must be filed.
States generally fall into one of two categories: those who allow claimants to waive their right to lien in a contract before work is ever performed, and those who do not. The vast majority of states fall into the latter category, but Alabama may be an exception here.
The bottom line is this: be careful what you sign in Alabama.
Who can file an Alabama Mechanics Lien?
There are two types of mechanics liens in Alabama, the “Unpaid Balance Lien” and the “Full Price Lien.” An Unpaid Balance Lien is available to parties without a contract with the owner, and is only effective to the amount of any unpaid balance due by the owner or proprietor at the time the Notice of Unpaid Lien is delivered to the property owner. A Full Price Lien is a lien in favor of general contractors, or others in direct contact with the owner, OR materialmen who give a Notice to Owner prior to furnishing materials to the project. Surveyors, suppliers to suppliers, and design professionals are not protected by Alabama lien law.
When is the Deadline to File an Alabama Mechanics Lien?
The deadline to file an Alabama mechanics lien is dependent upon the status of the lien claimant, and contingent upon first providing notice to the property owner. After providing notice to the owner, the deadline to file a lien varies. Laborers must file within 30 days of date labor was last provided; Original contractors must file within 6 months after the last item of work or labor has been performed; And all other claimants must file within 4 months after work or materials were last provided.
No. Alabama law does not require that a lien claimant send notice after the lien is recorded.
No. Alabama law does not allow for the recovery of attorney’s fees or other miscellaneous amounts in a mechanics lien.
When is the Deadline to Enforce an Alabama Mechanics Lien, or, How Long is My Lien Effective?
Alabama law requires that a mechanics lien be enforced within 6 months from the date the entire amount became due. If this 6-month period passes without an action being filed to enforce the lien, the lien expires. This period is the same time period in which a prime contractor’s lien must be filed.
Will My Alabama Lien Have Priority Over Pre-existing Mortgages or Construction Loans?
No. An Alabama mechanics lien has priority over liens that attached to the property after the mechanics lien attached.
Must the Alabama Lien Include a Legal Property Description?
No. A mechanics lien in Alabama does not require a legal property description to be valid. A description by which the property to be liened can be located or identified is required. If the property is located in a city or town, a description by house number, name of street, and name of city or town is sufficient. If the property being liened is not located within a city or town, the lien also may extend to one acre in addition to the land upon which the improvement is situated. If no accurate description of this additional one acre can be reasonably obtained by the lien claimant, it may be sufficiently described as “one acre of land surrounding and contiguous” to the building.
Must the Alabama Lien be Notarized?
Yes. A mechanics lien in Alabama must be notarized to be valid.
Can I File an Alabama Lien if I'm Unlicensed?
Yes. According to Alabama law, there is no licensing requirement for a person otherwise entitled to a mechanics lien to assert those lien rights.
Can I File an Alabama Lien on a Condominium Project?
You may file a lien against an individual condominium in Alabama, provided you are a party allowed to file a mechanics lien, but cannot file a lien against the condominium property as a whole subsequent to the recording of the condominium declaration. However, performing work on the common elements – if authorized by the condominium association – is deemed to have been performed or furnished with the express consent of each owner benefitted, and a lien can be filed against each unit individually.
Who Cancels the Alabama Lien if/when I get Paid?
Alabama law requires that the lienholder shall acknowledge satisfaction of the lien in the margin of the record in the office of the judge of probate within 30 days after satisfaction. Failure to grant the release subjects the lienholder to personal liability of $1000 and liability for actual damages.
Alabama does not have statutory lien waiver forms, and therefore, you can use any lien waiver forms. Since lien waivers are unregulated, be careful when reviewing and signing lien waivers. See this article: Should You Sign That Lien Waiver? Also, Alabama state law prohibits contractors and suppliers from waiving their right to file a mechanics lien in contract. You can learn more about the prohibition of such “no lien clauses” at this article: Where Can You Waive Your Lien Rights Before Payment?
Do I need to send an Alabama Preliminary Notice?
Anyone contracting directly with the property owner (an “original contractor”) does not need to send preliminary notice. However, for all other parties, sending preliminary notice in Alabama results in greater lien protection.
Those who do not send a preliminary notice in Alabama are entitled to later file a mechanics lien for the Unpaid Balance amount on the project. For those who properly and timely deliver a preliminary notice, a Full Price Lien will be available. Learn more about the differences between a Full Price Lien and an Unpaid Balance Lien here.
For anyone who furnishes material (material suppliers certainly, but potentially subcontractors who supply material as well), and does not contract directly with the owner, it’s a good idea deliver a Notice to Owner prior to delivering any materials. Sending this notice entitles the sender to a Full Price Lien rather than the usual Unpaid Balance Lien.
Regardless of whether a Notice to Owner is or is not delivered, prior to filing a Statement of Lien (i.e. the mechanics lien), anyone who is not in direct contract with the owner must deliver a Notice of Unpaid Lien to the property owner.
Though Alabama’s preliminary notice rules can be dependent on certain factors, strict compliance with the statute is required. A recent court of appeals decision addressed the state’s notice requirements in Gunther v. Carpet Systems of Huntsville, Inc. Read about that opinion here: Alabama Does Require Preliminary Notices – And Strict Compliance Required.
When do I need to send an Alabama Preliminary Notice?
Alabama law does not specify how long prior to performance a Notice to Owner must be sent. Presumably, there must be enough notice for the owner to respond prior to the materials being used in the project. The timing of this notice was discussed in an Alabama Appeals Court Case (October 2013): Gunther v. Carpet Systems of Huntsville, Inc. We discussed the article in a Lien Law Alert: Alabama Does Require Preliminary Notices – And Strict Compliance Is Required. There is some ambiguity about whether a notifying party must deliver the notice before every material delivery, or before the first one only, or before any material delivery where protection is desired.
As to the Notice of Unpaid Lien that must be delivered prior to filing a Statement of Lien, anyone who did not contract with the property owner must deliver a Notice of Unpaid Lien to the property owner. Alabama law does not specify the time by which this notice must be received by the property owner, it only notes that it must be before filing the lien, even if that is just immediately before. Read more about the Notice of Unpaid Lien.
What if I send the Alabama Preliminary Notice Late?
If a Notice to Owner Prior to Performance is not sent, the lien claimant will not lose all rights. He will be unable to file a Full Price Lien, but will be retain his rights to file an Unpaid Balance Lien provided he follows the statutory requirements to do so. If a Notice of Unpaid Lien is not filed on time (before the Statement of Lien is filed), the lien is invalid, and will be extinguished.
How Should the Alabama Preliminary Notice be Sent?
A property owner must have actual notice. Notice should be sent certified mail return receipt in order to show the owner actually received notice.
Do I have to send the Alabama Preliminary Notice to Someone Other than the Owner?
No. In Alabama, notice is to be sent to the property owner, or his agent.
Is the Alabama Preliminary Notice Considered Delivered When Sent or When Received?
Alabama mechanics lien law does not specify whether the notice is considered delivered when sent or when received, but the requirement of Alabama courts that the owner receives “actual” notice seems to point to the notice being considered delivered when received by the owner or his agent.
When you perform work on a private construction project in Alabama, and are not paid, you can file a lien against the project pursuant to Alabama’s Mechanics Lien Statute. Alabama’s Mechanics Lien Statute is codified in Ala. Code 35-11-210 et. seq., and is reproduced below.
Every mechanic, person, firm, or corporation who shall do or perform any work, or labor upon, or furnish any material, fixture, engine, boiler, waste disposal services and equipment, or machinery for any building or improvement on land, or for repairing, altering, or beautifying the same, under or by virtue of any contract with the owner or proprietor thereof, or his or her agent, architect, trustee, contractor, or subcontractor, upon complying with the provisions of this division, shall have a lien therefor on such building or improvements and on the land on which the same is situated, to the extent in ownership of all the right, title, and interest therein of the owner or proprietor, and to the extent in area of the entire lot or parcel of land in a city or town; or, if not in a city or town, of one acre in addition to the land upon which the building or improvement is situated; or, if employees of the contractor or persons furnishing material to him or her, the lien shall extend only to the amount of any unpaid balance due the contractor by the owner or proprietor, and the employees and materialmen shall also have a lien on the unpaid balance. But if the person, firm, or corporation, before furnishing any material, shall notify the owner or his or her agent in writing that certain specified material will be furnished by him or her to the contractor or subcontractor for use in the building or improvements on the land of the owner or proprietor at certain specified prices, unless the owner or proprietor or his or her agent objects thereto, the furnisher of the material shall have a lien for the full price thereof as specified in the notice to the owner or proprietor without regard to whether or not the amount of the claim for the material so furnished exceeds the unpaid balance due the contractor, unless on the notice herein provided for being given, the owner or proprietor or his or her agent shall notify the furnisher in writing before the material is used, that he or she will not be responsible for the price thereof. The notice may be given in the following form, which shall be sufficient: Click Here to View Form.
(a) Such lien as to the land and buildings or improvements thereon, shall have priority over all other liens, mortgages or encumbrances created subsequent to the commencement of work on the building or improvement. Except to the extent provided in subsection (b) below, all liens, mortgages and encumbrances (in this section, “mortgages and other liens”) created prior to the commencement of such work shall have priority over all liens for such work. Enforcement of such lien of a mechanic, materialman or other person created by section 35-11-210 (in this section, “mechanic or materialman lien”) shall not affect any prior mortgage or other lien, and the purchaser in connection with the enforcement of such mechanic or materialman lien shall take the property subject to such prior mortgages and other liens of which the purchaser has actual or constructive notice on the date of the purchase. Foreclosure of any prior mortgage or other lien shall terminate and extinguish such subordinate mechanic or materialman lien or other interest as to the land and the buildings and improvements thereon, whether or not at the time of such foreclosure such lien or interest has been perfected in accordance with the provisions of this division, and the mechanic, materialman or other person thereafter shall have, to the extent of his lawful claim under this division, the statutory right of redemption afforded under applicable redemption laws to a judgment creditor whose judgment was recorded on the date such work was commenced and such rights in any excess proceeds received by the foreclosing lienholder as provided by law.
(b) As to liens, mortgages or encumbrances created prior to the commencement of the work, the lien for such work shall have priority only against the building or improvement, the product of such work which is an entirety, separable from the land, building or improvement subject of the prior lien, mortgage or encumbrance, and which can be removed therefrom without impairing the value or security of any prior lien, mortgage or encumbrance; and the person entitled to such lien may have it enforced, at any time prior to the foreclosure of such prior lien, mortgage or encumbrance, by a sale of such buildings or improvement under the provisions of this division and the purchaser may, within a reasonable time thereafter, remove the same. If such mechanic or materialman lien for such work is not enforced prior to such foreclosure, the mechanic or materialman lien shall be terminated and extinguished and after such foreclosure, the mechanic, materialman or other person who held such mechanic or materialman lien thereafter shall have the statutory right of redemption and such rights in excess proceeds to the extent provided in subsection (a) above.
§ 35-11-213. Filing requirement; verified statement.
It shall be the duty of every person entitled to such lien to file in the office of the judge of probate of the county in which the property upon which the lien is sought to be established is situated, a statement in writing, verified by the oath of the person claiming the lien, or of some other person having knowledge of the facts, containing the amount of the demand secured by the lien, after all just credits have been given, a description of the property on which the lien is claimed in such a manner that same may be located or identified, a description by house number, name of street, and name of city or town being a sufficient description where the property is located in a city or town, and the name of the owner or proprietor thereof; but no error in the amount of the demand or in the name of the owner or proprietor, shall affect the lien. Unless such statement is so filed the lien shall be lost. Said verified statement may be in the following form, which shall be deemed sufficient: Click Here to View Form.
§ 35-11-214. Verification of statement outside state.
If the oath to such statement is made beyond this state, it may be administered by any officer authorized to take acknowledgements and proof of conveyances beyond the state.
§ 35-11-215. Filing requirement; repetition of filing.
§ 35-11-217. Land; large lots outside city or town; separate parcels within city or town.
§ 35-11-219. List of laborers furnished to owner.
§ 35-11-221. Statute of limitations.
§ 35-11-224. Finding of indebtedness and/or lien.
§ 35-11-226. Judgment of lien; sale.
§ 35-11-227. Contractors; necessary party; defense of action.
§ 35-11-228. Distribution of proceeds.
§ 35-11-229. Survival of action; death of lienholder.
§ 35-11-230. Survival of action; applicability of other provisions.
Every person, including cestuis que trust, for whose use, benefit or enjoyment any building or improvement shall be made, is embraced within the words “owner or proprietor,” as used in this division.
§ 35-11-233. Assignment or transfer of claims.
(2) Filing with the court a bond executed as surety by a surety insurer licensed to do business in this state, either of which shall be in an amount equal to the amount demanded in such claim of lien plus interest thereon at eight percent per year for three years plus $100.00 to apply on any court costs which may be taxed in any proceeding to enforce said lien.
Such deposit or bond shall be conditioned to pay any judgment or decree which may be rendered for the satisfaction of the lien for which such claim of lien was recorded and costs not to exceed $100.00. Upon making such deposit or filing such bond the court shall make and record a certificate showing the transfer of the lien from the real property to the security and mail a copy thereof by registered or certified mail to the lienor named in the claim of lien so transferred at the address stated therein. Within 10 days from the date of the receipt of the said certificate, the lienor may by motion, petition the court in which the action is pending for a hearing on the sufficiency of the amount in question or on the qualifications of the surety insurer. In such an event, the ruling of the court on the said motion, shall be a final determination. Upon the expiration of the said 10 days, or in the event a petition has been filed with the court, upon the determination of the court, and upon filing the certificate of transfer in the court where the lien was filed, the real property shall thereupon be released from the lien claimed and such lien shall be transferred to said security. The court shall be entitled to a fee for making and serving the certificate in the sum of $2.00. Any number of liens may be transferred to one such security.

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