Legal Question in Construction Law in California

Many business stationary stores carry mechanics lien release forms. The language of the release is mandated by statute, however, so you have to be careful that you have one that contains the exact language required under the Civil Code. You also have to make sure you have the right one. There is different language mandated for a conditional release upon progress payment, an unconditional release upon progress payment, a conditional release upon final payment and an unconditional release upon final payment.

I suppose you understand that it is the lien claimant (the "mechanic") who must prepare and execute the release. The homeowner, acting alone, cannot "blow off" a claim of lien by means of a homeowner's form. The homeowner can, however, petition a court to remove an expired mechanic's lien under a procedure detailed in Civil Code section 3154, and the prevailing party is entitled, by statute, to up to $2,000 in attorney's fees. If a contractor properly should have released your property and hasn't and won't, you can either (a) ignore the lien because it can't be enforced anyway, or (b) if you feel a need to clean up the record, bring a suit under 3154.

As Bryan stated, it is the "mechanic" who needs to execute the lien release. The important thing for you to do is to be sure that you get releases from any contractors, laborors and/or material suppliers as the work is being done and paid for. You don't want to pay off a contractor, for example, and then find out he did not pay for the materials. In many cases this can be done through the use of joint checks, i.e. a check to the contractor and the material supplier.