A mechanics lien secures payment for contractors, subcontractors and suppliers by attaching a claim to the improved property itself, under Pennsylvania's Mechanics' Lien Law of 1963, 49 P.S. § 1101 and following. The statute is strict about deadlines, notices and content, and a claim that misses any of them is generally lost regardless of whether the money is owed. Ament Law Group represents contractors pursuing payment and property owners facing claims, in Westmoreland, Allegheny and the surrounding counties.
The Deadlines That Decide Most Cases
More mechanics lien claims are lost to the calendar than to the merits. The core dates:
- Six months to file the claim. Measured from completion of the claimant's own work, not from the end of the project. Returning to do warranty or punch list work does not reset it.
- Thirty days notice of intention, for subcontractors. A subcontractor must serve formal written notice on the owner at least thirty days before filing, in the form and manner the statute requires. A general contractor in direct contract with the owner does not.
- Written notice after filing. The claim must be served on the owner within a set period after filing, with proof of service filed with the court. Missing this step can invalidate an otherwise proper claim.
- Two years to bring suit. A complaint to enforce the lien must be filed within two years of filing the claim. A lien left to sit past that point is no longer enforceable.
Larger projects carry an additional layer. Pennsylvania maintains a State Construction Notices Directory for projects above a statutory cost threshold, where the owner may file a notice of commencement and subcontractors must file a notice of furnishing to preserve lien rights. When a project is registered in the directory, failing to file the notice of furnishing can forfeit the claim entirely, no matter how correct everything else is. Checking the directory at the start of a job takes minutes and is worth building into your intake.
For Contractors and Suppliers
A lien is leverage, and it works because it interferes with the owner's ability to sell or refinance. It is also not the only remedy, and it is not always the best one.
What we do on the claimant side:
- Confirming lien rights exist at all, which depends on the type of work, the type of property, your contractual tier, and whether you signed away rights in the contract
- Reviewing lien waivers already signed, since a broad waiver executed with a progress payment can eliminate rights for work already performed
- Preparing and serving the notice of intention and the claim within the statutory windows
- Filing the enforcement action, and pursuing the parallel breach of contract claim where one exists, since the contract claim often survives when a lien does not
- Negotiating payment, which is how the large majority of these resolve once the claim is properly on record
Contractors performing residential work should also be aware of Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, which imposes registration and contract requirements. Non-compliance affects what you can recover and can matter more to the outcome than the lien itself. We cover that separately on our home improvement contractors page.
For Property Owners
A lien on your property is not proof that you owe anything. Claims get filed that are late, defective, overstated, or asserted by a party with no lien rights at all.
What we do on the owner side:
- Reviewing the claim against the statute, since defects on the face of a claim can often be raised by preliminary objections and resolved quickly
- Assessing the protections available to residential owners who have already paid the contractor, which are real but conditional and fact-specific
- Discharging the lien by posting security where a sale or refinance needs to proceed while the underlying dispute continues
- Defending the enforcement action, including counterclaims for defective work, delay, or overbilling
- Watching the two-year enforcement deadline, since a claimant who does not sue in time loses the lien
The worst response to a lien is to wait. The windows for challenging one are short, and a lien discovered two weeks before a closing is a different problem than the same lien addressed when it arrived.
Before the Work Starts
Most of what we are asked to fix was decided in the contract. For owners on a substantial project, and for contractors on any project, the terms that matter are the payment schedule, the lien waiver language attached to progress payments, retainage, change order procedure, and what counts as completion.
Reviewing those before signing is inexpensive. Litigating them afterward is not, and by then the leverage belongs to whoever is holding the money.
Talk to Us Early
If you are a contractor who has not been paid, the useful moment is well before the six months runs, while the claim is still clean and the relationship may still be salvageable. If you are an owner who has received a notice of intention, the useful moment is now, during the thirty days, rather than after the claim is recorded.
Bring the contract, the invoices, any signed waivers, and the notice if you received one. We will tell you where the deadlines actually sit and what the realistic outcome looks like.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a mechanics lien in Pennsylvania?
A lien claim must be filed within six months after the claimant completes its work. The date that starts the clock is completion of the claimant's own work, not the completion of the overall project, and punch list items or warranty repairs generally do not extend it. Six months sounds generous and disappears quickly while a contractor is still trying to get paid amicably, which is how most valid claims are lost.
Does a subcontractor have to give notice before filing?
Yes. A subcontractor must give the owner formal written notice of intention to file at least thirty days before filing the claim, and the notice has to comply with the statute as to content and service. A general contractor dealing directly with the owner does not have this requirement. Getting the notice wrong is one of the more common reasons a subcontractor lien is struck.
I paid my contractor in full and a subcontractor filed a lien anyway. Can they do that?
Pennsylvania law gives residential owners meaningful protection in this situation, and whether it applies turns on the type of property, what was paid, and when. It is not automatic, and the analysis depends on the specific facts of your project. Do not ignore the claim on the assumption that payment alone defeats it, and do not wait, because the deadlines for challenging a lien are short.
How do I get a mechanics lien removed from my property?
There are several routes depending on the defect. A lien that fails to meet the statutory requirements can be challenged by preliminary objections, which is fast when the defect is on the face of the claim. A lien can be discharged by posting security, which clears the title so a sale or refinance can proceed while the dispute continues. And a lien becomes unenforceable if the claimant does not file suit within two years of filing it, which happens more often than you would think.
Does a mechanics lien stop me from selling my house?
In practice, usually yes. The lien appears in the title search, and a title company will not insure over it and a lender will not close with it outstanding. That is precisely why liens are effective, and it is also why a defective lien filed against a property under agreement needs immediate attention rather than a wait-and-see approach.