Legal Question in Construction Law in California

Re: construction lien

You seem to understand the requirements for a mechanic's lien. For details you can review Civil Code sections 3083 et seq., noting especially sections 3097 and 3114. The codes are available for public reading at county law libraries and many general libraries.

Don't forget, however, that the contractor can get a judgment lien on your property if he wins in court and files an abstract of judgment. Your strategy should be to resolve the dispute or win on the facts in court, thus avoiding the possibility of a lien.

Re: construction lien

The laws surrounding mechanics liens and enforcement of those liens can be remarkably technical. Suffice to say that the lien statutes are of Constitutional magnitude (California Constitution)and the courts give the contractors a lot of leeway in the filing of the lien.

The general rule is that if the contractor had a contract with you directly (as opposed to a subcontractor), he is allowed to file a lien within 90 days of completion of the project. This is a greatly simplified explanation. The contractor then has 90 days in which to foreclose on the lien. This foreclosure can be done in small claims court.

You mentioned "20 days". There is a 20 day requirement with preliminary notices. When someone has a direct contract with you, though, they don't have to serve a preliminary notice.