On a residential project, a General Contractor is required to provide a Pre-Construction Notice to Owner PRIOR to the start of work or all lien rights are invalidated. Although the general contractor’s notice to owner covers the subcontractors and suppliers, in the event that he fail to give the required notice, the subcontractors and suppliers are left out in the cold and lose all lien rights. As a safeguard, subcontractors and suppliers should provide their own Pre-Construction Notice to Owner to protect their Arkansas Mechanic’s Lien rights.
In addition to the above notice requirements, a potential lien claimant must provide the property owner with a Notice of Intent to Lien at least 10 days prior to filing a lien.
A Notice to Owner and Contractor, and the 10-day Notice of Intent to Lien, may be given by personal service, by any form of mail addressed to the person to be served with the mail, return receipt requested, restricted delivery, to addressee or agent of addressee, or by any means that provides written, third-party verification of delivery. The Preliminary Notice is considered delivered when sent, and verified by a return receipt signed by the addressee or the agent of the addressee, or a returned envelope, postal document, or affidavit by a postal employee reciting or showing refusal of the notice by the addressee or that the item was unclaimed.