Tag Archive for Florida Notice to Owner

Florida NTO Delivery Problems – What if the mail delivery isn’t successful?

Florida NTO Delivery Problems

Do you have to mail your Florida NTO with your fingers crossed?

The 45-day time limit for delivering your Florida Notice to Owner (Florida NTO) is an issue that we talk and write about A LOT – our frequent blog posts (read about it here and here) and our website (go to that page here) cover the subject in detail. Florida NTOs must be delivered to the required parties within 45 calendar days from your first day on the job (weekends and holidays are included, unless the 45th day lands on a Sunday or holiday, where they give you until the next business day for delivery). Typically, Florida NTOs are sent via USPS Certified Return Receipt Mail to the property owner and any other parties that need to be informed of your work on the project. USPS Certified Return Receipt mail requires the recipient to sign for the mail when the postal worker delivers it. However, what happens if your NTO arrives at its destination within 45 days of your first day of the job as required, but the party that you mailed it to isn’t available to sign for the mailing? What happens if the delivery address is to a PO box and the mail doesn’t get picked up for over a week, pushing you past your delivery deadline? What happens if the party you send it to is no longer at that address? What happens if the party you send it to never picks up the mailing at all, so the mail gets returned to you? What happens if it gets lost in the mail? We will cover all of these Florida NTO delivery problems in our new blog series – stay tuned! Each week this month, we will write about a scenario in which you send your notice but the delivery does not go smoothly, and we will explain how your lien rights are affected. Have a question that needs to be answered right away? Call us at (407)399-8997 – we are always happy to help and explain how you can avoid Florida NTO delivery problems!

Florida NTO Time Limit

The NTO clock is ticking from the first minute you set foot on the job…

We receive calls weekly (sometimes daily) from subcontractors who have let the 45-day time limit for serving their NTO on a project pass, only to realize that they are having a difficult time getting paid on a job. It is always awful to hear that they started work months ago and didn’t think of sending an NTO until it is time to get paid. Florida law does not budge on the time limit for sending your NTO – if you do not serve it within 45 days of your FIRST DAY on the job, you forfeit your right to lien the property you worked on in the case that you don’t get paid in full. The Florida NTO TIme Limit does not have a grace period – 45 days is it. We encourage you to send an NTO on any project valued at $2500 or more when you work as a subcontractor, as that is the minimum amount that you can lien for as a subcontractor under Florida law. This Florida NTO time limit also applies to public and private bonded jobs – you have 45 day from your FIRST day of work to send your Notice to Contractor, or your forfeit your right to make a claim against the bond in the event you don’t get paid/paid in full. Do you need to calculate how far you are into your 45-day time limit? Use our NTO and Lien Date Calculator by clicking here: Free Florida NTO and Lien Date Calculator

Please feel free to call us to discuss your situation at (407)399-8997. The cost of a Notice to Owner is a small price to pay for peace of mind while working on a job, knowing that you have secured your lien rights.

Florida NTO Time Limit is 45 Days