Connecticut mechanic's liens: 90 days to record with the town clerk, 30 days to serve the owner, one year to foreclose

Connecticut's mechanic's lien law, chapter 847 of the General Statutes, protects people who build, repair or improve property. Two features set it apart: liens are recorded with the town clerk, not a county office, and the claimant must serve the owner after recording.

Recording the lien

Under section 49-34, a mechanic's lien is not valid unless the claimant, within 90 days after it stopped performing services or furnishing materials, lodges a written certificate with the town clerk of the town where the property is. The certificate must describe the property, state the amount claimed, name the person against whom the lien is filed, give the date work or deliveries began, state that the amount is justly due as nearly as can be determined, and be sworn to by the claimant.

No later than 30 days after lodging the certificate, the claimant must serve a true and attested copy on the owner, in the same manner as the notice under section 49-35.

Notice of intent for subs and suppliers

Section 49-35 limits who can claim a lien without extra notice: the original contractor, and a subcontractor whose written contract was assented to in writing by the owner. Everyone else must, after starting and no later than 90 days after stopping work, give written notice to the owner and the original contractor that it has furnished or begun to furnish materials or services and intends to claim a lien. An original contractor is entitled to that notice only if it lodged a required notice with the town clerk within 15 days after starting work.

Foreclosing

A mechanic's lien lasts one year after it is perfected. To keep it, the claimant must start an action to foreclose and record a notice of lis pendens on the town land records within that year, or within 60 days after a court rules on an owner's application to reduce or discharge the lien, whichever is later (section 49-39). Otherwise the lien is invalid and discharged as a matter of law.

Public works: the payment bond

Section 49-41 requires each state or municipal contract over $100,000 for the construction, alteration or repair of a public building or public work to include a payment bond in the amount of the contract, furnished on or before the award date, to protect people supplying labor or materials.

Under section 49-42, a person who performed work or supplied materials on a requisition and is not paid in full within 60 days of the applicable payment date, or who supplied materials or work not on a requisition and is not paid within 60 days, may enforce the bond by serving a notice of claim on the surety, with a copy to the contractor, within 180 days after last supplying work or materials. For retainage, the 180 days run from the applicable payment date. The notice must state the amount and the party for whom the work was done, and describe the project.

Paying subs on state jobs

Section 49-41c requires anyone contracting with the state to pay its subcontractors within 30 days after the state pays it, for work and for materials. A contractor may withhold payment only for a bona fide reason, and only if it notifies the subcontractor in writing within those 30 days and sends a copy to the state agency.

What to do

Subcontractors and suppliers should send the notice of intent early, calendar 90 days from their last work to record, and serve the owner promptly. On public jobs, get a copy of the bond. This is a summary, not legal advice; see our Connecticut lien and bond guide.