Removing a Construction Lien From Florida Property

A recorded construction lien clouds the title to your property and can stall a sale or refinance until it is discharged. This article walks through the methods Florida law provides for removing one, from the voluntary release a paid contractor signs to the court order that cancels a lien the claimant refuses to pursue. It is one of the procedures covered in the broader guide to Florida consumer protection laws. The same statute that governs how a Florida mechanics lien is created also sets out every route for clearing one, because “construction lien” and “mechanics lien” describe the same claim under Chapter 713.

The five ways a Florida construction lien is discharged

Florida groups the removal methods in a single statute. Under Fla. Stat. § 713.21, a properly perfected lien is discharged by any one of five methods: the lienor entering satisfaction on the margin of the record, the lienor recording a signed and notarized satisfaction or release, the lienor’s failure to begin an enforcement action within the statutory time, an order of the circuit court after a summons to show cause, or the recording of a final judgment that determines the case.

Those five methods fall into three practical groups. The lienor can release the lien voluntarily. The owner can move the lien off the property or run out the lienor’s clock. Or a court can cancel it. Which route fits depends on whether the claim has been paid, whether the lienor will cooperate, and how much time is left on the lienor’s deadline to sue.

Get a satisfaction or release from the lienor

The cleanest removal happens when the lienor signs off. When a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier is paid or the dispute is settled, that lienor records a satisfaction or release of the lien. Under Fla. Stat. § 713.21(2), the release must carry the lienor’s notarized signature and identify the official-records reference number and recording date of the lien it clears. A search for a Florida construction lien release form turns up both partial releases (used for progress payments) and final releases (used when the balance is paid in full).

Recording is what actually removes the lien from the public record. The clerk of the circuit court is the official recorder of claims of lien and their satisfactions, so the signed release is filed with the county clerk’s recording department where the original lien was recorded. Until the satisfaction is recorded, a title search still shows the lien even if the debt is paid.

Transfer the lien to a bond or cash deposit

An owner who disputes the claim, or who needs a clean title before the dispute is resolved, can move the lien off the real estate without paying the lienor. This is called transferring the lien to security, and it is governed by Fla. Stat. § 713.24. The owner deposits cash with the clerk or files a surety bond in an amount equal to the claim of lien, plus interest at the legal rate for three years, plus the greater of $5,000 or 25 percent of the claimed amount to cover attorney fees and costs.

Once the deposit or bond is filed, the clerk records a certificate of transfer, and the real property is released from the lien. The lien then attaches to the security instead of the land, so the dispute continues against the bond while the title is clear. The clerk charges a service fee of up to $20 for making and serving the certificate, plus the usual recording charges, under Fla. Stat. § 713.24(1).

Shorten the lienor’s deadline or force cancellation

An owner who thinks the claim will not be pursued has two tools that put the lienor on a short clock. The first is a Notice of Contest of Lien. Under Fla. Stat. § 713.22(2), recording this notice with the clerk cuts the lienor’s time to file an enforcement suit to 60 days from the date the clerk serves the notice. A lienor who fails to sue within those 60 days has the lien extinguished automatically.

The second tool is faster. Under Fla. Stat. § 713.21(4), any interested party files a complaint and the clerk issues a summons ordering the lienor to show cause within 20 days why the lien should not be enforced or canceled. If the lienor does not respond or start an enforcement action before the return date, the court orders the lien canceled of record.

1. Confirm the recording details of the lien

   Pull the claim of lien from the county official records and note the book and page or instrument number, the lienor’s name, and the address stated for the lienor. Both the notice of contest and the show-cause complaint identify the lien by those details.

2. Record a Notice of Contest, or file a show-cause complaint

   Record the Notice of Contest form set out in Fla. Stat. § 713.22(2) to start the 60-day clock, or file a complaint in the circuit court of the county where the property sits to obtain the 20-day summons under Fla. Stat. § 713.21(4).

3. Let the clerk serve the lienor

   For a notice of contest, the clerk serves a copy on the lienor at the address in the claim of lien and certifies the date of service, which is when the 60-day period begins.

4. Record the cancellation or automatic extinguishment

   If the lienor misses the deadline, the notice of contest extinguishes the lien automatically, and a show-cause proceeding ends in a court order canceling the lien. Recording that outcome clears the title.

Let the one-year enforcement deadline expire

A construction lien is not permanent. Under Fla. Stat. § 713.22(1), a lien does not continue for longer than one year after the claim of lien is recorded unless the lienor commences an action to enforce it within that year. A lien whose year runs out without a lawsuit is no longer enforceable.

The one-year period runs from the recording date, or from the recording of an amended claim of lien that shows a later date of final furnishing. Because the deadline is measured from the record, the recording date on the claim of lien tells an owner when the lien would lapse if the lienor never sues. Recording a notice of contest, described above, is the way an owner shortens that one-year window to 60 days rather than waiting it out.

Fraudulent, exaggerated, and unlicensed-contractor liens

Some liens can be attacked on their merits. Under Fla. Stat. § 713.31, a lien in which the lienor has willfully exaggerated the amount claimed, willfully included work not performed or materials not furnished, or compiled the claim with gross negligence amounting to willful exaggeration is a fraudulent lien. A fraudulent lien is a complete defense to enforcement, and a court that finds one is directed to declare it unenforceable, at which point the lienor forfeits the lien entirely.

The statute draws a line, though. A minor mistake in a claim of lien or a good-faith dispute over the amount due is not a willful exaggeration and does not by itself defeat an otherwise valid lien. Willfully filing a fraudulent lien is a third-degree felony under Fla. Stat. § 713.31(3), and the owner or a defrauded contractor has a separate right of action for damages, including attorney fees and, in some cases, punitive damages.

Licensing is another line of attack. Florida requires most construction work to be performed by a licensed contractor, and problems with a claimant’s license bear on whether the lien holds up. The process for checking and reporting a contractor’s license status is covered in the guide on reporting an unlicensed contractor in Florida, and license discipline is handled through the Florida contractor complaint process. The general framework of how these liens attach and are enforced is set out in The Florida Bar’s overview of the state’s construction lien law.