Frequently Asked Questions - New York Mechanics Lien
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If you live or work in New York, you know that it's busy, loud and complicated. New York's notice and lien process isn't any different, and since it can be hard to navigate you need someone who can expedite your lien filings.
When you have a lot of other things to get done on a construction project, you don't want to be spending time and money figuring out how to file a mechanics lien. LienItNow.com provides the construction industry online mechanics lien forms to help contractors, sub-contractors, and material suppliers obtain a security interest in the property owner's land, and secure the payment they've worked for.
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In New York, liens filed on private property or on funds relating to a public project are known as Mechanic's Liens. A mechanics lien in NY is an instrument created by state statute. These statutes, known as the New York Lien Law, provide specific and detailed instructions on who can file a mechanics lien, when a mechanics lien must filed, and the process by which a mechanics lien is file and served. The New York State (NYS) mechanics lien law allows for three different types of lien: New York private mechanics liens, which are filed on commercial or private projects, New York residential mechanics liens, which are filed on certain residential homes, and New York public mechanics liens, which are filed on government projects.
Each of these types of mechanics liens serve a different purpose and effect, but also have different requirements and time periods for filing. When a mechanics lien in New York is filed with regard to work performed on privately owned property, including both commercial and residential property, it attaches to and encumbers the fee simple ownership of property, which means that encumbers the property, similar to how a mortgage affects property.
When a New York mechanics lien is filed with regard to work performed on a publicly or government owned property, it attaches to the fund of money which the public agency has allocated for a project. The reason for this is that you cannot force the sale of publicly owned land (public agencies mean any county, city, town, township, public commission, public board or other municipality authorized by law to make contracts for the making of any public improvement in any city, town, township or other municipality).
It is extremely important to pay attention to the time periods for filing a mechanics lien in NY. Mechanics' liens in New York on private property must be filed within eight months of the last date the lienor provided materials or services to the Project.
New York mechanics' liens with regard to public projects can be filed at any time before the completion and acceptance of a public improvement, but no later than 30 days following completion and acceptance by the state or the public corporation.
New York mechanics' liens with regard to residential single family dwellings must be filed within four months after completion of the work.
On a public project, the filing of a New York mechanics lien freezes the fund of money that has been allocated for the public project, thus reducing or sometimes even stopping the flow of payments to the offending contractor until the lienor is paid.
One of the hardest questions we are asked is about the timing of when a satisfaction or lien should be filed. Though the question seems easy, filing a discharge or release of lien at the wrong time can lead to a loss of lien rights altogether. Keep in mind that once a satisfaction has been filed, there's little chance of turning back and reinstating the original lien.
In general, a satisfaction or discharge of lien should only be filed when payment is in hand. In many cases, the lien release document is exchanged at the time a certified check or wire transfer is made. If an attorney is involved, they will often hold the satisfaction of lien in escrow until the payment clears.
In general, however, once the lienor has been paid the amount contained in its lien claim, or has come to an agreement that requires the lien claim to be removed from the property records, a Discharge of mechanics' lien Claim should be filed.
In New York, bonds are required on nearly every government owned or financed project. So in New York, in addition to lien rights, contractors on public construction projects also have rights against the project's payment bond.
Many private projects in New York also require payment bonds. Note taht bond claims can only be filed on a construction project where the owner, contractor or subcontractor has obtained a payment bond to ensure that every contractor receives payment for the work performed on the Project. The payment bonds issued by sureties for construction projects have specific timing requirements, but most require claimants to submit claims against the bond within sixty to ninety days from the claimants' last date of work. Bond claims are as or more effective than a lien claim because the payment bond acts as a guarantee that payment will be made for work properly completed.
Yes! New York is one of the few states that allows the extension of a lien claim, and that extension can be for one year at a time, for up to two years. Filing an extension of the mechanics' lien claim permits the claimant to keeps its lien for an extra year before it is required to foreclose on the property. On commercial projects, one year can be added to the lien by filing an extension with the county clerk before the lien expires (a judge needs to sign off on any request for a second extension). Residential lien extensions require a court order prior to the lien's expiration date.