If you were not hired by the Property Owner, or the Property Owner’s Authorized Agent, then before you have the right to file a Lien for withheld retainage, you must first notify the Property Owner in writing that your contract allows the contractor who hired you to withhold retainage from your progress payments. If your contract is with a Subcontractor, then you must serve the Original Contractor with the Notice as well. The Notice must be served within the earlier of: (1) the 30th day from when you complete, terminate, or abandon your contract; or (2) before the 30^th day after the contract between the Property Owner and the Original Contractor is completed, terminated, or abandoned.

A claim solely for withheld contractual retainage does not accrue until the contract between the Property Owner and the Original Contractor is completed, settled, terminated, or abandoned. Once that has occurred and if you have timely served the required Notice, then under the 2022 lien amendments, you have until the 15^th day of the third month (for both residential and commercial Projects) to timely file a Lien Affidavit for unpaid retainage. As such, if you provide labor/material/equipment at the outset of a large-scale Project, it is likely that your deadline to file a pure retainage Lien may not arise until well after you have completed your work. Retained funds should be released by the Original Contractor within 30 days from when the Project reaches substantial completion.