Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>We're an equipment rental company in Texas. Do we have the right to file a mechanics lien?

We're an equipment rental company in Texas. Do we have the right to file a mechanics lien?

We are a equipment rental company. If we contracted directly with the property owner and they have stopped paying us and no notices have been sent. Do we have lien rights regardless? The project was entered in Zlien and the equipment is still on their site.

1 reply

Mar 29, 2018

Whether mechanics lien rights are available can depend on a number of different factors, including, as you'd mentioned, whether requisite notices were sent. However, when a party is hired directly by the property owner, they are considered an "original contractor" under the Texas Property Code (regardless of whether that party would normally consider themselves as an original contractor). This is great news for claimants contracting with an owner - when a party is considered an original contractor, many of those infamous Texas notice requirements do not apply. Unless a project is a residential or homestead project, an original contractor is generally not required to give any preliminary notice to preserve lien rights. For work on a residential projects, a Disclosure Notice and a List of Subs and Suppliers are required. On a homestead project, (1) the contract must be executed before any labor or material is furnished, (2) if the owner is married, the contract must be signed by both spouses, and (3) the contract must be filed with the county clerk in the county where the project is located. Of course, all other applicable deadlines and requirements will still apply even where some notice requirements might not. Finally, regarding equipment still on site, a mechanics lien deadline is based on a claimant's last furnishing, but that does not mean a lien claim may not be made if work is ongoing on a project.

0 people found this helpful

Helpful

Still looking for the right answer? Ask me your question!

Add your answer or comment

Not the answer you were looking for? Check out other Mechanics Lien topics or ask your own question