You can’t lien public property. Period. So what do you do when you are hired to work on an airport, park, school, courthouse or other type of public property? How do you protect your right to be paid for the work you do? Instead of sending a Notice to Owner (NTO), you send a Notice to Contractor. The Notice to Contractor tells the General Contractor on the project that in the event that you are not paid, you will look to the Bond to be paid. (A bond is similar to an insurance policy for a specific project. Florida Statutes Section 255.05(1)(a) states that a contractor on a pubic project must record a payment bond in the public records of the county where the project is located PRIOR to commencing work. This requirement is for state projects of $100,000.00 or more, or county, city or public authority projects of $200,000.00 or more.) The time frame for sending a Notice to Contractor is 45 days from your FIRST day of work, the same as the time limit for sending a Notice to Owner (NTO). Learn more about The Notice Zone’s Notice to Contractor service by clicking here. Have questions? Fee free to call us at (407)399-8997.

What do you do if you send your Notice to Contractor and you don’t get paid on a job? Check our next blog for the answer, or click here to learn about the Notice of Nonpayment process.