Preliminary 20 Day Notice - Construction Liens - Civil Code Section 8200 - Individual
Note: This summary is not intended
to be an all-inclusive summary of California Construction Lien law.
8200. "Preliminary 20-day notice (private work)" means
a written notice from a claimant that is given prior to the recording of
a mechanic's lien, prior to the filing of a stop notice, and prior to asserting
a claim against a payment bond, and is required to be given to the following persons:
(1) Owner or reputed owner.
(2) The direct contractor or reputed direct contractor to which the claimant provided work, either directly or through one or more subcontractors.
(3) The construction lender or reputed construction lender, if any.
The notice must comply with the requirements contained in Section 8102 (See below).
Compliance with this section is a necessary prerequisite the validity of a lien claim, stop payment notice, and a claim against a payment bond.
NOTE: (1) A laborer is NOT required to give preliminary notice and (2) A direct contractor is only required to give preliminary notice to the construction lender or reputed construction lender.
8202.The preliminary notice must comply with Section 8102 (See Below) and include:
(1) A general description of the work to be provided.
(2) An estimate of the total cost of the work provided and to be provided.
(3) A specific bold-faced notice to owner contained in Section 8202(a)(3).
If preliminary notice is given by a subcontractor that has not paid all compensation due a laborer, the notice must include the name and address of the laborer and any person or organization or person described in Section 8024 to which payments are due. This information may be provided in the form of a invoice or payroll that contains all the required information.p>
Section 8102
(a) Notice under this part (Part 6 Works of Improvement) shall, in addition to any other information required by statute for that type of notice, include all
of the following information to the extent known to the person giving
the notice:
(1) The name and address of the owner or reputed owner.
(2) The name and address of the direct contractor.
(3) The name and address of the construction lender, if any.
(4) A description of the site sufficient for identification,
including the street address of the site, if any. If a sufficient
legal description of the site is given, the effectiveness of the
notice is not affected by the fact that the street address is
erroneous or is omitted.
(5) The name, address, and relationship to the parties of the
person giving the notice.
(6) If the person giving the notice is a claimant:
(A) A general statement of the work provided.
(B) The name of the person to or for whom the work is provided.
(C) A statement or estimate of the claimant's demand, if any,
after deducting all just credits and offsets.
(b) Notice is not invalid by reason of any variance from the
requirements of this section if the notice is sufficient to
substantially inform the person given notice of the information
required by this section and other information required in the
notice.