A contractor lien on your house does not only come from the contractor you hired. Florida’s construction lien law also reaches certain subcontractors and material suppliers. The warning the state requires in a qualifying direct contract says those people may look to your property for payment even if you have already paid your contractor in full.
Keep the documents separate. A notice of commencement is not a lien. A notice to owner is not a lien. A claim of lien is the recorded claim. A notice of termination ends a notice of commencement’s effectiveness. It does not, by itself, erase every preserved lien right. This page is a map of those distinctions, not a determination of anyone’s rights on a particular job.
Can a contractor put a lien on your house in Polk County?
Yes, a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier may hold lien rights against the property when the facts and the statute line up. Direct-privity rights and non-privity rights are not the same path.
F.S. 713.02(3) gives persons in privity with an owner who perform labor or services or furnish materials constituting an improvement rights as provided in F.S. 713.05. F.S. 713.02(4) gives persons not in privity rights as provided in F.S. 713.06.
Florida also requires a warning in certain residential construction contracts. F.S. 713.015(1) reaches any direct contract “greater than $2,500 between an owner and a contractor, related to improvements to real property consisting of single or multiple family dwellings up to and including four units.”
The required contract notice says:
“THOSE WHO WORK ON YOUR PROPERTY OR PROVIDE MATERIALS AND SERVICES AND ARE NOT PAID IN FULL HAVE A RIGHT TO ENFORCE THEIR CLAIM FOR PAYMENT AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY.”
It also addresses payments made directly to the contractor:
“IF YOUR CONTRACTOR OR A SUBCONTRACTOR FAILS TO PAY SUBCONTRACTORS, SUB-SUBCONTRACTORS, OR MATERIAL SUPPLIERS, THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE OWED MONEY MAY LOOK TO YOUR PROPERTY FOR PAYMENT, EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADY PAID YOUR CONTRACTOR IN FULL.”
A missing contract warning does not automatically erase a valid lien. F.S. 713.015(2)(b) says, “The failure to provide such written notice does not bar the enforcement of a lien against a person who has not been adversely affected.”
F.S. 713.015(2)(c) adds two more limits on that section. It “may not be construed to adversely affect the lien and bond rights of lienors who are not in privity with the owner.” It also “does not apply when the owner is a contractor licensed under chapter 489 or is a person who created parcels or offers parcels for sale or lease in the ordinary course of business.”
What the $2,500 line does, and what it does not
$2,500 appears in more than one place in Part I. Those uses are not interchangeable.
In F.S. 713.015, $2,500 is the threshold for the statutory construction-lien warning in a qualifying direct contract. The warning must be “printed in no less than 12-point, capitalized, boldfaced type on the front page of the contract or on a separate page, signed by the owner and dated.” That figure is not a floor below which no lien can exist.
In F.S. 713.02(5), an improvement with a direct contract price of $2,500 or less “shall be exempt from all other provisions of this part except the provisions of s. 713.05.” Direct-privity lien rights under 713.05 remain. Do not read that exemption as a free pass from the entire lien law, and do not read it as wiping out a contractor who has a direct contract with the owner.
A separate money line sits on the deposit side of the same job. Florida Statute 489.126 attaches permit and start-work duties when an initial payment totals more than 10 percent of the contract price, not at 10 percent exactly, and not as a deposit cap.
What is a notice to owner, and what should you do when one arrives?
A notice to owner preserves potential lien rights for certain parties. It is not a bill, a recorded lien, or proof that money is unpaid.
F.S. 713.06 concerns lienors who are not in privity with the owner. In plain terms, they do not have a direct contract with the homeowner. Laborers are excepted from this notice requirement.
The statute sets this delivery window:
“The notice must be served before commencing, or not later than 45 days after commencing, to furnish his or her labor, services, or materials, but, in any event, before the date of the owner’s disbursement of the final payment after the contractor has furnished the affidavit under subparagraph (3)(d)1.”
For covered lienors, “the failure to serve the notice, or to timely serve it, is a complete defense to enforcement of a lien by any person.” The serving of the notice does not replace recording a claim of lien.
Receiving the letter does not mean a lien exists. The statute says, “The notice is not a lien, cloud, or encumbrance on the real property nor actual or constructive notice of any of them.”
The notice form itself carries this warning:
“FLORIDA’S CONSTRUCTION LIEN LAW ALLOWS SOME UNPAID CONTRACTORS, SUBCONTRACTORS, AND MATERIAL SUPPLIERS TO FILE LIENS AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY EVEN IF YOU HAVE MADE PAYMENT IN FULL. UNDER FLORIDA LAW, YOUR FAILURE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PAID MAY RESULT IN A LIEN AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY AND YOUR PAYING TWICE. TO AVOID A LIEN AND PAYING TWICE, YOU MUST OBTAIN A WRITTEN RELEASE FROM US EVERY TIME YOU PAY YOUR CONTRACTOR.”
For an enclosure, the sender may be an aluminum or screen supplier. One crew can install materials furnished by a separate distributor. Keep every notice with the contract and payment records.
How a release of lien protects you
The required notice in F.S. 713.015(1) tells the owner to stipulate in the contract that before any payment is made, the contractor is required to provide a written release of lien from any person or company that has provided the owner a notice to owner.
That is the statute’s instruction in a qualifying direct contract, not a promise that a release always exists or that paying the contractor always clears everyone else. Coordinate written releases with payments from each party that served a notice to owner. Unresolved claims are easier to see before the final check goes out than after.
The contractor’s final payment affidavit
Before final payment, the contractor must give the owner a final payment affidavit. It identifies notice senders who have not been paid in full. Hold on to it. A notice of termination of a notice of commencement must be accompanied by that contractor’s affidavit.
F.S. 713.06(3)(d)1 says:
“The contractor shall give to the owner a final payment affidavit stating, if that be the fact, that all lienors under his or her direct contract who have timely served a notice to owner on the owner and the contractor have been paid in full or, if the fact be otherwise, showing the name of each such lienor who has not been paid in full and the amount due or to become due each for labor, services, or materials furnished.”
The statute also addresses a contractor who has not provided it:
“The contractor shall have no lien or right of action against the owner for labor, services, or materials furnished under the direct contract while in default for not giving the owner the affidavit; however, the negligent inclusion or omission of any information in the affidavit which has not prejudiced the owner does not constitute a default that operates to defeat an otherwise valid lien.”
That consequence concerns the contractor who failed to provide the affidavit. It does not automatically eliminate another party’s properly preserved lien rights.
How long can a lien sit on your property?
A lienor generally has 90 days after its own final furnishing to record a claim. The deadline does not run from the project’s completion or the homeowner’s payment date, and 90 days is not unconditional.
F.S. 713.08(5) says:
“The claim of lien may be recorded at any time during the progress of the work or thereafter but not later than 90 days after the final furnishing of the labor or services or materials by the lienor.”
The same subsection shortens that window when the original contract is terminated under F.S. 713.07(4): “a claim for a lien attaching prior to such termination may not be recorded after 90 days following the date of such termination or 90 days after the final furnishing of labor, services, or materials by the lienor, whichever occurs first.”
The claim of lien is recorded in the clerk’s office. Once recorded, a separate enforcement period applies.
F.S. 713.22(1) states:
“A lien provided by this part does not continue for a longer period than 1 year after the claim of lien has been recorded or 1 year after the recording of an amended claim of lien that shows a later date of final furnishing of labor, services, or materials, unless within that time an action to enforce the lien is commenced in a court of competent jurisdiction.”
That one-year period can be shortened. F.S. 713.22(2) lets an owner or the owner’s attorney record a notice of contest of lien. The statutory form tells the lienor “that the time within which you may file suit to enforce your lien is limited to 60 days from the date of service of this notice.” If that notice is served and the lienor does not institute suit within 60 days after service, “the lien of any lienor upon whom such notice is served and who fails to institute a suit to enforce his or her lien within 60 days after service of such notice is extinguished automatically.”
Removing or contesting a recorded lien is a legal matter. Speak with a Florida construction attorney about your specific property and documents. This article does not determine whether any particular claim is valid.
Frequently asked questions
Can a subcontractor put a lien on my house if I already paid the contractor?
A subcontractor or supplier may still have preserved lien rights. Florida’s required contract warning specifically addresses this payment risk. Whether a particular claim is enforceable depends on its facts and statutory compliance.
Is a notice to owner the same as a lien?
No. F.S. 713.06 says the notice is not a lien, cloud, or encumbrance. It preserves potential rights for covered lienors who are not in privity with the owner, except laborers. A notice of commencement is also not a lien.
Do I need a release of lien when the contract is below $2,500?
The $2,500 figure in F.S. 713.015 controls the mandatory contract warning, not whether every lien right disappears. Separately, F.S. 713.02(5) exempts a $2,500-or-less improvement from the other provisions of Part I except F.S. 713.05, so direct-privity rights remain. Whether a release is still worth requesting on a given job is a fact-specific legal question, not something this page can decide.
How long does a contractor have to file a lien in Florida?
A claim may generally be recorded no later than 90 days after that lienor’s own final furnishing. If the original contract is terminated under F.S. 713.07(4), the recording window can end earlier: 90 days after termination or 90 days after final furnishing, whichever occurs first.
How long does a recorded lien last?
F.S. 713.22 generally allows one year from recording to commence an action to enforce the lien. A notice of contest can shorten that to 60 days after service. One year is the general period, not an unconditional maximum in every case.
What is the contractor’s final payment affidavit?
It identifies covered lienors who served timely notices to owner. The affidavit states who has been paid and who remains unpaid when final payment becomes due.
Keep the paperwork aligned with the project
The lien paperwork runs alongside the permit paperwork, and they answer different questions. Our notice of commencement in Polk County guide covers the form recorded before work starts. If you are assembling the permit file itself, the screen enclosure permits guide can help organize that next step. It is not a ruling on lien rights.
You can also review the Lakeland outdoor living service area before planning the project.
Lakeland Outdoor Pro connects homeowners with insured local aluminum crews. We do not perform licensed work or provide legal advice. Call (863) 777-5379, then ask the matched crew for the lien-law paperwork up front.