Legal Question in Construction Law in California

It depends on your role in the project and whether or not the owner records a notice of completion. If there is no notice of completion recorded, everyone had 90 days from actual completion to record a mechanics lien. Determining completion, however, is one of the most litigated issues in construction law. The common rule of thumb is that a project is complete when all work included in the contract is finished and only "punch-list" work remains. However "punch-list" is not a legal term, and is used imprecisely. Technically, the punch list is only work that has been done but done wrong, but plenty of contractors, owners, architects, etc., include minor incomplete work on the "punch list." In a famous case the owner contended completion had occurred on a certain date, which would have made the contractor's lien untimely. The list of "punch list" items, included some walls painted the wrong color, and also included some soap dishes that had not yet been installed in the bathrooms. The court found that the failure to install the soap dishes meant the work was not complete. Repainting the incorrectly painted walls would be true punch list work, but finishing up something that had never been done - the soap dish installation - meant the project was not complete on the date the owner claimed. If the owner DOES record a notice of completion (which must not be done before actual completion to be effective) then the time limits for recording mechanics liens are reduced to 30 days for subcontractors and 60 days for the prime contractor.