Proposed Statute Would Make Significant Changes to Florida's Construction Lien Law

Florida House Bill 345, would make changes to 16 different sections of Part I, Chapter 713, Florida Statutes, including alterations of the definitions of contractor and final furnishing, changes to who is required to be listed on a notice of commencement, and changes to the statute governing service of notices to owner, liens, and other documents.

This article is intended to address the proposed changes to Chapter 713, Florida Statutes, which are outlined below by section. House Bill 345 also impacts 255.05, 337.18, and 95.11, Florida Statutes, and you can click here to view our summary of those changes.

713.01 - Definitions

  • Updates the definition of “clerk’s office” to include other offices serving as a county recorder

  • Updates the definition of “contractor” to include construction management and coordination services as follows:

The term also includes a licensed general contractor or building contractor, as those terms are defined in s. 489.105(3)(a) and (b), respectively, who provides construction management services, which include scheduling and coordinating both preconstruction and construction phases for the successful, timely, and economical completion of the construction project or who provides program management services, which include schedule control, cost control, and coordination in providing or procuring planning, design, and construction.

  • Updates the definition of “final furnishing” to clarify how final furnishing applies to specially fabricated materials as follows:

With respect to specially fabricated materials, the term means the date that the last portion of the specially fabricated materials is delivered to the site of the improvement, or if any portion of the specially fabricated materials is not delivered to the site of the improvement by no fault of the lienor, the term means 9 months after the date the lienor completes the fabrication, 9 months after the date the lienor receives the last portion of the specially fabricated materials needed to complete the order, or the date the notice of commencement expires, whichever is later.

  • Adds the following definition of “finance charge” as follows:

"Finance charge" means a contractually specified additional amount to be paid by the obligor on any unpaid balance if the obligor fails to pay the entire principal amount to the obligee by the due date set forth in the credit agreement or other contract.

713.011 - Computation of Time

  • This is a completely new section of the lien law which is added to clarify how the many deadlines contained in Florida’s Construction Lien Law are calculated.

  • Codifies existing case law to indicate that if a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday it is automatically extended to the following business day

  • If clerk’s offices are closed for a state of emergency for any reason, then deadlines under Florida’s Construction Lien Law are tolled during the closure.

713.09 - Single Claim of Lien

  • This section is amended to clarify that work on multiple projects under multiple contracts can be covered in one lien if the owner of all the parcels is the same.

713.10 - Extent of Liens

  • Clarifies language that a lessee of a mobile home in a mobile home park cannot subject the mobile home park to a lien.

713.13 - Notice of Commencement

  • This statute is updated to require that both a property owner and a tenant’s information be listed on the notice of commencement if the tenant is contracting for improvements

  • The notary jurat is updated to recognize the legalization of online notaries

713.132 - Notice of Termination

  • This statute is updated to require an owner to serve a copy of the notice of termination on each lienor who timely serves a notice to owner after the notice of termination has been recorded

  • The amended statute also allows owners to record a notice of termination only after all lienors have been paid in full or pro rata under 713.06(4).

  • Prior to recording, a notice of termination must be served on all lienors with a direct contract and all lienors who timely served a notice to owner up to that point

713.135 - Notice of Commencement and Applicability of Lien

  • Allows building departments to accept a certified copy of a notice of commencement, a notarized statement that the notice of commencement has been recorded, or a copy of the clerk’s office official records showing the recording book and page number of the notice of commencement as proof that the notice of commencement has been recorded

  • This appears to be intended to remove the requirement that a building department receive a certified copy of the notice of commencement

713.18 - Manner of Serving Documents

  • Expands 713.18 to apply to Chapter 713, Florida Statutes, and section 255.05 or 337.18, Florida Statutes, except it does not apply to 713.23, Florida Statutes

  • Service by actual delivery is changed to allow hand delivery

  • Delivery by common carrier is altered to require delivery to the person to be served

  • Service of a notice to owner is effective as of the date of mailing if all the requirements of 713.18 are met and it is sent to an address required under the statute and is mailed within 40 days after first furnishing, and the person who served it maintains a tracking log or maintains tracking records approved or generated by the US Postal Service (this last part appears to be intended to make it easier to rely on online printouts showing delivery of certified mail)

  • Service continues to be effective if the requirements of the statute are met and the letter is not picked up through no fault of the party serving it

713.21 - Discharge of Lien

  • Statute is amended to officially recognize that a lien may be released in whole or in part by complying with the statute

  • The statute is also amended to require lien releases to be notarized and to include reference to the recording numbers for the lien being released

713.22 - Duration of Lien

  • The portion of the statute amended appears to be amended in order to clarify that it is the recorded notice of contest of lien that must be served, not just a copy of the notice of contest of lien

713.23 - Payment Bond

  • Very minor adjustments to match the language of the statute to other sections of the statute

713.235 - Waivers of Right to Claim Against Payment Bond

  • Removes the application of this statute to section 713.245

713.24 - Transfer of Liens to Security

  • Increases the amount of money to transfer a lien to a surety bond by requiring the bond be equal to the face value of the lien, plus three years of statutory interest, plus 50% of the amount demanded in the lien to apply to attorneys’ fees and court costs.

  • Clerk’s are no required to include a copy of the bond when making and recording a certificate

713.245 - Conditional Payment Bond

  • Repealed by the proposed statute

713.25 - Applicability of Chapter 65-456

  • Repealed by the proposed statute

713.29 - Attorney Fees

  • Makes clear that fees are awardable even in actions to enforce liens that have been transferred to a bond