A notice of intent to lien does not put a lien on anything. In many states it is an optional warning letter saying the sender has not been paid and plans to file a mechanic’s lien, and the filing itself is a separate step with its own deadline. Some states also require different, statutory notices, and mixing these documents up is where painting contractors most often go wrong.
This article is about U.S. states only. Lien law is set state by state, so the examples come from Texas and California, and your own state’s statute decides the details.
Treating the notice as if it were the lien
The most damaging version is wording a notice of intent as though a lien already exists. The letter does not create a lien on its own, and claiming that a lien was filed when nothing has been recorded is inaccurate on its face. It also gives the owner a reason to dispute everything else in the letter.
Many states treat this letter as optional, and it is often sent after payment requests have gone unanswered. A painter drafting one can read what to include in a notice of intent to lien.
Skipping a notice the state requires, or using one on a public job
Whether a pre-lien notice is optional depends on the state, and the documents are not interchangeable. California Civil Code section 8200 requires a claimant to give a preliminary notice to the owner, the direct contractor and any construction lender before recording a lien claim, and it treats compliance as a prerequisite to a valid lien claim. Laborers are exempt, and a claimant with a direct contract with the owner has narrower duties, so a painter’s place in the contract chain matters.
In states where a notice of intent is optional, sending one still gives the owner a chance to pay before the sender spends money on filing. Public projects work differently. Public property generally cannot be liened, so unpaid workers on a public job usually make a payment bond claim instead, and for federal construction contracts 40 U.S.C. section 3131 provides for a payment bond protecting people who supply labor and material.
Sending it only to the party that owes you
Hypothetical example: a painter is hired by a general contractor to paint the interior of a tenant suite in a Texas retail building. This is a commercial job, not anyone’s home. All of the unpaid work was performed in March, the last coat goes on March 28, and the general contractor never pays the $6,850 invoice. The building owner has no contract with the painter and may not know the painter exists.
A reminder sent to the general contractor, however many times, does not reach the owner. Texas Property Code section 53.056 requires a claimant other than an original contractor to send a notice of claim for unpaid labor or materials to the owner or reputed owner and to the original contractor. Unlike a notice of intent to lien, this notice of claim is a statutory prerequisite to a valid lien. A painter hired directly by the owner is itself an original contractor, and different rules apply to that situation.
Counting the deadline from the wrong day
Sending a notice late cannot reset a statutory deadline. In the hypothetical, Texas ties the notice of claim deadline to the month in which the labor was provided. Because the job is not a residential construction project and all the work was done in March, the notice is due by the 15th day of the third month after March, which is June 15. On a residential project the same March work would be due by the 15th day of the second month, May 15, and a homestead adds further requirements, so confirm both points before relying on the longer period.
Two mistakes can lead to the wrong deadline. One is counting from the invoice date or the payment due date instead of the month the work was done. The other is misjudging whether the job counts as residential, which moves the deadline by a full month. The statute also contains exceptions, and the filing deadline for the lien itself runs on a separate clock, so the notice date is only the first date to calendar.
Vague amounts and no proof of delivery
An optional notice of intent usually carries the sender’s details, the owner’s name and address, the project address, a description of the work, the last work date and the exact unpaid amount. A required statutory notice, such as California’s preliminary notice or Texas’s notice of claim, has to follow that state’s own content rules instead. Rounded figures cause trouble when the invoice includes a disputed change order, so separate the undisputed balance from the extras and check the total against the contract and your records.
Extras are easier to defend when they are described plainly. Our guide to drywall repairs before interior painting lists the tasks involved, from filling nail holes to priming the repairs, and an invoice can name patching, sanding and priming the same way, each as its own line with the dates the work was done.
Delivery needs a record too. For a notice of intent, certified mail with a return receipt, or hand delivery with a signed acknowledgment, leaves proof. A statutory notice has to be served the way that state’s law specifies. Keep the letter exactly as sent, the receipt and any reply. If the owner pays, the sender is usually asked to sign a lien waiver; if not, the file shows when the notice went out.
Before drafting anything, write down three dates: the last day of work, the state’s notice deadline and the lien filing deadline. On a job with real money at stake, a local construction attorney can confirm the notice rules for your state once those dates are on paper.
