Florida Construction Lien Law (Chapter 713) for the B&F Exam

Florida's Construction Lien Law, Part I of Chapter 713, Florida Statutes, lets people who improve real property claim a lien against it when they are not paid. On the Business and Finance exam, lien law questions are mostly about who has lien rights and when each notice or filing is due. This page summarizes what the statute says for exam study. It is not legal advice, and the deadlines below can be amended, so check the current statute before relying on them for a real job.

Who can claim a lien

Section 713.01 defines a "lienor" to include contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, laborers, materialmen (suppliers) and professional lienors. What matters most for the exam is privity: whether you have a direct contract with the owner.

• In privity: the contractor who signed the direct contract with the owner. The owner already knows who they are.
• Not in privity: subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, suppliers and laborers hired by someone below the owner. Section 713.06 says these lienors have a lien if they comply with the part, and most of them must give the owner notice.

Two exemptions worth knowing:

• An improvement with a direct contract price of $2,500 or less is exempt from most of the part (F.S. 713.02(5)).
• A contract with an unlicensed contractor gives no lien rights to that contractor (F.S. 489.128).

Notice to owner

A lienor not in privity with the owner must serve a Notice to Owner to keep its lien rights. Under F.S. 713.06(2)(a), the notice must be served "before commencing, or not later than 45 days after commencing, to furnish his or her labor, services, or materials," and in any event before the owner makes final payment after receiving the contractor's final affidavit.

The clock starts on the first day of furnishing, not the last. Laborers are the exception: the statute does not require a laborer to serve a notice to owner.

Worked example: notice to owner deadline

A supplier first delivers block to a job on April 12. When is the notice to owner due?

1. Days left in April after the 12th: 30 − 12 = 18 days (that takes you to April 30)
2. Days still needed: 45 − 18 = 27
3. Count 27 days into May: May 27

The notice must be served no later than May 27, assuming the owner has not made final payment first.

Claim of lien

Under F.S. 713.08(5), a claim of lien may be recorded at any time during the work, "but not later than 90 days after the final furnishing of the labor or services or materials by the lienor." If the direct contract is terminated, the claim may not be recorded after 90 days following termination or 90 days after the lienor's final furnishing, whichever comes first.

The lienor must also serve a copy of the recorded claim on the owner within 15 days after recording. Late service makes the lien voidable to the extent the delay prejudiced someone entitled to rely on it.

Worked example: claim of lien deadline

An electrical subcontractor's last day on a house is August 20. When must the claim of lien be recorded?

1. Days left in August after the 20th: 31 − 20 = 11 (through August 31)
2. Add September: 11 + 30 = 41 (through September 30)
3. Add October: 41 + 31 = 72 (through October 31)
4. Days still needed: 90 − 72 = 18
5. Count 18 days into November: November 18

The 90 days run from the final furnishing. On the exam, use the date of final furnishing given in the question.

Contractor's final payment affidavit

The contractor in privity has its own step. Under F.S. 713.06(3)(d), the owner holds back the final payment until the contractor delivers a final payment affidavit stating that all lienors under the direct contract who timely served a notice to owner have been paid in full, or naming each one not paid in full and the amount due.

If the contractor wants to sue to enforce its lien, it must deliver the affidavit to the owner at least 5 days before filing the action. This applies even if the contract was terminated before completion.

Duration of the lien and the lawsuit deadline

Under F.S. 713.22(1), a lien lasts no longer than 1 year after the claim of lien is recorded unless an action to enforce it is started within that time.

The owner can shorten that period. Under F.S. 713.22(2), the owner may record a Notice of Contest of Lien. A lien that is not enforced by a lawsuit within 60 days after service of that notice is extinguished automatically.

Notice of commencement

The owner records a notice of commencement (NOC) in the county before work starts. It identifies the property, owner, contractor, surety and lender, and it sets the period during which liens can relate back to the start of the job.

• Expiration: 1 year after recording, unless the notice states a different date (F.S. 713.13).
• Work must start in time: if the improvement is not actually commenced within 90 days after recording, the NOC is void (F.S. 713.13).
• Permits: under F.S. 713.135, the building department requires a copy of the NOC to be filed before the first inspection when the direct contract is greater than $5,000. This does not apply to repair or replacement of an existing heating or air-conditioning system under $15,000.

Timeline table

Related rules that show up on the exam

• Residential contract notice: F.S. 713.015 requires a specific lien-law disclosure in direct contracts over $2,500 for improvements to residential property of one to four units.
• Misapplication of funds: F.S. 713.345 requires a contractor who receives payment to use it to pay the people who supplied labor, services and materials for that job. Knowingly and intentionally misapplying it is a crime, graded by amount.

Key numbers to tab in your book

• Notice to owner timing (45 days)
• Claim of lien recording deadline (90 days)
• Service of claim of lien on the owner (15 days)
• Contractor's final payment affidavit (5 days before suit)
• Duration of lien (1 year)
• Notice of contest of lien (60 days)
• Notice of commencement: 90-day start, 1-year expiration
• $2,500 exemption and $5,000 NOC filing threshold

Practice the deadlines

Lien law questions often hand you a date and ask you to count. Our Florida Business and Finance Exam Prep has original lien law questions with every count explained and each answer cited to Chapter 713, plus 90 days of practice across the full exam. Related guides: retainage and the B&F exam format.