Video Summary
What is a Notice of Commencement? A Notice of Commencement is a portion of the Florida Construction Lien Statute. The Florida Construction Lien Statute provides notices to contractors, owners, subcontractors, material men and laborers so each has everybody else’s notice that they’re working on the job. One of the first things the owner must do is to sign a Notice of Commencement that sets forth that they are the owner, how they can be contacted, the legal description and who the contractor is. This is recorded in the public records and also posted on the jobsite so that anybody working there would know who to give notice to if they’re working there and make sure they get paid (that’s called sending a Notice to Owner). Once the owner receives Notice to Owner, then they need to ask their general contractor for a partial lien waver anytime they make a disbursement to the general contractor on the job.
In order for the building contractor to obtain a building permit, he must have a signed Notice of Commencement which is presented to the Building Department, and then it has to be recorded in the public records before the Building Department will issue a building permit. The Notice to Owner is an obligation of the owner to record. If the owner fails to record a Notice of Commencement, then they can be subject to paying more than once for the home in the event that there are unpaid material men or subcontractors, or if the contractor goes south with the money or doesn’t pay their contractors and the property is liened. So be sure that you always have a Notice of Commencement that’s filed and put in the legal description, and construction is commenced shortly after recording the Notice of Commencement. I believe it’s 60 days after the Notice of Commencement is recorded. Maybe 90 days. But construction needs to start shortly after you file the Notice of Commencement.
If you have any questions about your Notice of Commencement or the Construction Lien Statute, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.