Do you have a construction job in Colorado? Then you’d better read on to learn how to navigate the confusing rules on how to file a mechanics lien in Colorado. Whether you’ve previously worked construction in Colorado or not, you should regularly review the State’s requirements to file a lien to avoid making any one of the many mistakes which could cost you your hard-earned money. For example, your deadline to file a mechanics lien may change from 2 to 4 months depending on whether or not you provided materials along with your construction services. If you calculate the deadline wrong, you may lose your lien rights. The following steps will help you navigate requirements to avoid such a mistake.
- Notice of Intent to Lien: First, you must serve the owner with your Notice of Intent to file a mechanics lien, which must include your company name, the amount you are owed, the name of the owner, the name of who hired you for the work, and a description of the property. This Notice may be served personally on the owner or by certified mail, return receipt requested at least 10 days before you file your lien. Since this deadline is calculated from the date you file the lien, your last day to serve this notice is 10 days before the last day you can file your mechanics lien. Otherwise, the notice will be ineffective and the lien will be unenforceable.
- Prepare Your Mechanics Lien: Next, you must file your mechanics lien along with the return receipt for certified mail or an affidavit swearing to personal service on the owner to prove you complied with the 10-day notice requirement. Your mechanics lien will require your sworn, notarized statement verifying the amount owed to you, your name, owner’s, the name of who hired you for the work, and a description of the property.
- Timely File Your Lien: Your mechanics lien in Colorado must be filed within 4 months, or 120 days, of the last date you provided labor and materials for the project. However, if you did not provide materials and only provided labor, you only have 2 months from your last day of providing labor to file your lien. You can extend this timeframe in some situations by filing a Notice of Extension with the county’s clerk, which extends the filing deadline to either 4 months after the project is completed, or 6 months after filing the extension request, whichever occurs first.
- Correctly File Your Lien: The lien must be filed in the county clerk’s office of the Colorado county where all or a majority of the property is located. Make sure to consult with the county clerk’s office you are filing in to see if they also have any county specific requirements for filing. You’re not required to send the owner a copy of the filed mechanics lien but it may be best to prove you followed through with the filing against owner’s property.
- Be Accurate: Colorado is one of several states that will penalize you if you overstate the amount you are owed in your Colorado mechanics lien. Even a minor miscalculation opens you to the risk of having to pay the opposing party’s attorney’s fees as a penalty for overstating the amount of money you are owed. Therefore, it is essential that ensure the debt claimed in your lien is accurate.
- Canceling the Lien: Hopefully, filing your mechanics lien leads to prompt payment of your account. Once you receive that, you are responsible for filing an acknowledgment of satisfaction within 10 days.
- Enforcement Actions: Once your lien is successfully filed, you have 6 months to begin a collections action. At this point, if it goes in front of a judge, they may choose to award extra amounts such as attorney’s fees.
Filing a mechanic’s lien in Colorado can be tricky, so consulting with a lien expert is the best way to protect your right to be paid. For help making sure you’ve got the right timeline for the project you’re working on, or if you’d just like someone to help you manage the process, reach out to the attorneys at National Lien & Bond. We have the expertise to give you the legal advice you need so that you can take timely actions to protect your right to be paid.
