Update on House Bill 0236 - Mechanic's Lien
We had previously written about this proposed amendment to the Illinois Mechanic's Lien Act. HB 0236 originally would have required notice to home-owners from original contractors prior to filing a lien.
The new amendment alters the bill substantially, changing its nature from a bill requiring pre-filing notice to a bill that creates a post-filing step for contractors.
The amendment turns the bill into one creating a requirement that a contractor provide the owner written notice by certified mail within 10 days of the recording of the lien.
This is really pointless. A contractor would certainly want the owner to have notice after the lien has been filed because usually those filing liens are trying to get paid without the heavy cost of litigation. The whole point to filing the lien is that you have one more bargaining chip in getting the money you're owed and also have an extra claim if you need to collect in court. So what kind of contractor wouldn't or doesn't let the owner know that a lien is in place?
Additionally, when will "notice" be considered served. Under Section 24 (770 ILCS 60/24) for subcontractors:
"notice by registered or certified mail is considered served at the time of its mailing."
Here, we have not added the caveat for contractors. Why? Do we seek to completely strip a contractor of its rights if it can't get the home-owner to sign for the certified mail? And why was this changed from a pre-filing requirement to a post-filing measure?
