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Notice of Intent to Lien required 10 days before filing a lien. On Residential Projects, a Pre-Construction Notice to Owner required before work. On other projects, Notice to Owner and Contractor within 75 days of last furnishing work and materials. | Must be filed within 120 days after last furnishing labor/materials. Action to enforce must be filed within 15 months after filing lien. |
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Notice of Intent to Lien required 10 days before filing a lien. On Residential Projects, a Pre-Construction Notice to Owner required before work. On other projects, Notice to Owner and Contractor within 75 days of last furnishing work and materials. | Must be filed within 120 days after last furnishing labor/materials. Action to enforce must be filed within 15 months after filing lien. |
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Notice of Intent to Lien required 10 days before filing a lien. On Residential Projects, a Pre-Construction Notice to Owner required before work. On other projects, Notice to Owner and Contractor within 75 days of last furnishing work and materials. | Must be filed within 120 days after last furnishing labor/materials. Action to enforce must be filed within 15 months after filing lien. |
Arkansas Mechanics Lien Frequently Asked Questions
It’s easy to file Arkansas mechanics liens with Zlien, the web’s leading mechanics lien compliance manager and filing service. Plus, Zlien prepares and files Arkansas mechanics lien releases, Pre-Construction Notices to Owner, 10-day Notices of Intent to Lien, 75-day Notices to Owner and Contractor. To learn more about Arkansas mechanics lien laws, read the frequently asked questions below.
Arkansas Mechanics Lien FAQs
Who can file a Mechanic’s Lien?
You are qualified to file a mechanic’s lien in Arkansas if you are a contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier, who supplies labor, material fixtures, engines, boilers, or machinery in the construction or repair. Also, Arkansas law provides mechanic’s lien rights to architects, engineers, surveyor, appraiser, abstractor, title insurance agent, or person providing landscaping services or supplies if under a written contract with the owner or owner’s agent.
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When is the Deadline to File a Mechanic’s Lien?
A Statement of Account and Claim of Lien must be filed with the circuit clerk of the county in which the property is located within 120 days of last “substantial” work on the project.
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Do I Need to Send Notice the Lien Was Recorded?
Yes. After filing, notice of the lien should be mailed to the property owner by registered mail. If the lien amount is not fully paid within 20 days of the date of mailing this notice, attorney’s fees may be awarded in an action to enforce the lien.
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Can I Include Attorney’s Fees, Collection Costs, or Other Amounts in the Lien Total?
Arkansas law allows for a broad recovery through a mechanic’s lien. Amounts that may be recovered include the debt, interest, and costs. Attorney’s fees may also be awarded. However, these amounts are awarded by the court in an enforcement action – and are allowed by the court whether or not the lien creditor included those amounts in the lien. It may, therefore, be advisable to not include any extraneous amounts, to be cautious, as they may be awarded by the court in a successful enforcement action.
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When is the Deadline to Enforce a Mechanic’s Lien, or, How Long is My Lien Effective?
Arkansas law requires that a mechanic’s lien be enforced within 15 months of the date the lien was recorded.
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Will My Lien Have Priority Over Pre-Existing Mortgages or Construction Loans?
An Arkansas mechanic’s lien has priority over both encumbrances recorded after the mechanic’s lien, and encumbrances previously existing as long as the previous encumbrance is not for the funding of the construction or improvement. All mechanic’s liens are of equal priority and relate back to the commencement of the project.
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Must the Lien Include a Legal Property Description?
No. An Arkansas mechanic’s lien requires a “correct description of the property to be charged with the lien, verified by affidavit”. This does not require a legal description of the property, a description is sufficient if it describes the property to be liened such that it can be reasonably identified.
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Must the Lien Include be Notarized?
Yes. A mechanic’s lien in Arkansas must be notarized to be valid.
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Can I File a Lien if I’m Unlicensed?
Yes. According to Arkansas law, there is no licensing requirement for a person otherwise entitled to a mechanic’s lien to assert those lien rights.
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Can I File a Lien on a Condominium Project?
You may file a lien against a condominium in Arkansas, provided you are a party otherwise allowed to file a mechanic’s lien.
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Who Cancels the Lien if/when I get Paid?
Once the lien claimant’s claim has been satisfied he is responsible for filing a Release of Lien in the records of the circuit clerk within 10 days after he receives payment. Failure to do so may subject the lien claimant to penalties.
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Arkansas Preliminary Notice FAQs
Do I need to send a Preliminary Notice?
Yes. On a residential project, a contractor is required to provide a Pre-Construction Notice to Owner prior to starting work. While the general contractor’s notice to owner works to the benefit of the sub-contractors and material suppliers, his failure to give the required notice affects their lien rights. It is prudent for subcontractors and material suppliers to provide their own pre-construction notice to owner to safeguard their lien rights. This notice does not need to be filed with a clerk of court.
Lien claimants on commercial projects are required to provide a Notice to Owner and Contractor within 75 days of last providing work or materials to the project.
Separate from the above notice requirements, a potential lien claimant must provide the property owner with a Notice of Intent to Lien.
When do I need to send a Preliminary Notice?
For residential projects, the Pre-Construction Notice to Owner must be given prior to beginning work.
The Notice to Owner and Contractor on a commercial project must be given within 75 days of the date of last providing labor and/or materials to the project.
Notice of Intent to Lien must be given at least 10 days prior to filing a lien.
What if I send the Preliminary Notice Late?
If a Pre-Construction Notice to Owner is not provided prior to beginning work on a residential project, the contractor is barred from bringing any action at all to enforce any provision of the contract – all lien rights are extinguished. Further, failure to comply with the statutorily required 10-day notice is likewise fatal to the lien’s validity.
How Should the Preliminary Notice be Sent?
A Pre-Construction Notice to Owner may be given by personal delivery, (if the signature of the owner or owner’s agent is obtained), or by certified mail return receipt, (in which case the signature of the owner or agent on the return receipt will suffice).
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, e.g. overnight delivery service.
Do I have to send the Preliminary Notice to Someone Other than the Owner?
The Notice to Owner and Contractor must be given to both the Owner and the General Contractor – the other Notices must be given to the Owner or the Owner’s agent.
Is the Preliminary Notice Considered Delivered When Sent or When Received?
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.
Arkansas Legal Updates
- October 12th 2011
FAQ: Are We Required To Deliver A Notice Of Intent To Lien Before Filing Our Lien?
See original article at FAQ: Are We Required To Deliver A Notice Of Intent To Lien Before Filing Our Lien?Shor...
