What If The Contractor, Rather Than The Owner, Signs a Notice of Commencement? Is the Notice Defective And, Therefore, Ineffective?
Lexology.com provided an in-depth answer to this very popular question. “Under Florida lien law, a Notice of Commencement is a form document the property owner is generally required to sign and record in the public record before commencing any improvements to real property. One of the purposes of the Notice is to provide potential lienors with information they will need to file a lien if they are not timely paid. The statute governing the Notice states that “the owner must sign the [Notice] and no one else may be permitted to sign in his or her stead.” Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(g). However, despite this statutory language, a Florida appellate court recently held that a Notice signed by a contractor—not by the owner—was effective. See Edwin Taylor Corp. v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Service, Inc., Case No. 2D19-1531 (Fla. 2d DCA June 17, 2020).”
“This issue of first impression arose because of a disagreement between a lender and a subcontractor regarding the date the subcontractor’s lien was deemed filed. In general, the effective date of a lien relates back to the date of the Notice of Commencement. The appellate court explained the issue as follows: “The issue before us is one of first impression in this court—whether the failure of the owner to sign the notice of commencement renders the notice invalid so that a lienor who strictly complies with the construction lien laws and properly perfects a claim of lien is precluded from having its lien relate back to the date of the recording of the notice of commencement under section 713.07.”
To read the full article, click HERE
