What can owners do if a lien is filed against their land?
A lien being filed against property can be disruptive to owners by restricting their ability to complete transactions involving the land, including interfering with the ability of the owner to obtain further construction financing using the land as security. Fortunately for owners the Builders Lien Act:
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limits owner liability and
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provides mechanisms to pay money into court in exchange for discharge of liens against the land.
The intent of the Builders Lien Act is that if owners properly follow the procedures required by the Builders Lien Act they will not have to pay more to have their projects completed than they would otherwise have had to pay if liens had not been filed.
Owners should carefully examine the liens that have been filed against their land and consider whether all requirements of the Builders Lien Act have been complied with, including that the lien was not filed late. In many cases liens are filed late or have other defects that allow the land owner to have the lien relatively promptly removed from the land.