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Notice to Owner A Notice to Owner (often referred to by the intialism "NTO") is a form of Preliminary Notice in Mechanics lien law. The term Notice to Owner is primarily used in the State of Florida, due to that state's particular legal framework. The purpose of the Notice to Owner is, simply, to put a property owner on notice that a subcontractor or material supplier has supplied labor, services or material to a construction project on the owner's property. The notice does establish a lien on the property but provides the owner with notification that should the subcontractor or material supplier not get paid, a lien may be placed on the property; the notice protects the lien rights of the individual serving the notice.
Service A NTO is not filed but rather served on the owner and other parties on the project. Generally, this means to send by certified mail, though hand delivery or even posting the notice on the construction job site are legally valid methods of service. The service of the notice must be timely, in that it must be delivered to the owner by the 45th day after the subcontractor or supplier supplied the labor, service and materials to the construction site. In the alternative, if the subcontractor can show proof of mailing by the 40th day
Notice to Contractor A Notice to Contractor ("NTC") is a similar form that is served on a Surety. The purpose of a NTC is to similarly notify the Surety that the subcontractor or supplier will look to a payment bond if they fail to get paid for work performed. The net effect is the same, though the legal process differs slightly. Florida law allow the notices to be combined into a single Notice to Owner/Notice to Contractor [1]
"Substantial Compliance" The legal test for compliance with the legal requirements of the notice to owner is "substantial compliance." In other words, as long as the the owner was not prejudiced by any mistake, the legal requirements are deemed met. For instance, if the owner receives the notice on the 46th day, but hasn't paid the general contractor yet, they can't rely on the late notification to prevent the subcontractor from claiming a lien should the subcontractor fail to get paid.
References
edit- ^ Florida Statutes 713.06
External links
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