Section 10. Filing of notice of lien  


Latest version.
  • 1. Notice of lien may be filed at any
      time  during  the  progress  of  the  work  and  the  furnishing  of the
      materials, or, within eight months after the completion of the contract,
      or the final performance of the work, or the  final  furnishing  of  the
      materials,  dating  from  the  last  item of work performed or materials
      furnished; provided, however, that where the improvement is  related  to
      real  property improved or to be improved with a single family dwelling,
      the notice of lien may be filed at any time during the progress  of  the
      work  and  the furnishing of the materials, or, within four months after
      the completion of the contract, or the final performance of the work, or
      the final furnishing of the materials, dating from the last item of work
      performed or materials furnished except that in the case of a lien by  a
      real  estate  broker,  the  notice  of  lien may be filed only after the
      performance of the brokerage services and execution  of  lease  by  both
      lessor and lessee and only if a copy of the alleged written agreement of
      employment  or  compensation  is annexed to the notice of lien, provided
      that where the payment pursuant to the written agreement  of  employment
      or compensation is to be made in installments, then a notice of lien may
      be  filed  within eight months after the final payment is due, but in no
      event later than a date five years after the first payment was made. For
      purposes of this section, the term "single family  dwelling"  shall  not
      include  a  dwelling unit which is a part of a subdivision that has been
      filed with a municipality in which the subdivision is  located  when  at
      the time the lien is filed, such property in the subdivision is owned by
      the  developer  for  purposes  other  than  his  personal residence. For
      purposes of this section, "developer" shall mean and include any private
      individual, partnership, trust or corporation which improves two or more
      parcels of real property with single  family  dwellings  pursuant  to  a
      common  scheme  or plan. The notice of lien must be filed in the clerk's
      office of the county where the property is situated. If such property is
      situated in two or more counties, the notice of lien shall be  filed  in
      the  office  of  the clerk of each of such counties. The county clerk of
      each county shall provide and  keep  a  book  to  be  called  the  "lien
      docket,"  which  shall  be  suitably  ruled  in columns headed "owners,"
      "lienors," "lienor's attorney," "property," "amount," "time of  filing,"
      "proceedings  had,"  in  each of which he shall enter the particulars of
      the notice, properly belonging therein. The date, hour and minute of the
      filing of each notice of lien shall be entered  in  the  proper  column.
      Except  where the county clerk maintains a block index, the names of the
      owners shall be  arranged  in  such  book  in  alphabetical  order.  The
      validity of the lien and the right to file a notice thereof shall not be
      affected by the death of the owner before notice of the lien is filed.
        2. Where the county clerk indexes liens in a block index, every notice
      of  lien  presented  to  the  clerk  of  a county of filing, in order to
      entitle the same to be filed, shall contain  in  the  body  thereof,  or
      shall have endorsed thereon, a designation of the number of every block,
      on  the land map of the county, which is affected by the notice of lien.
      The county clerk shall cause such notice of lien to be  entered  in  the
      block  index  suitably  ruled  to  contain  the  columns  listed  in the
      preceding  paragraph,  under  the  block  number  of  every   block   so
      designated.  In  cases  where  a  notice  of  lien shall have been filed
      without such designation or with an erroneous  designation,  the  county
      clerk,  on  presentation  of  proper  proof  thereof,  shall  enter such
      instrument in the proper index, under the proper block number  of  every
      block  in  which  the  land affected is situated, and shall, at the same
      time, make a note of such entry and of the date thereof in  every  place
      in which such instrument may have been erroneously indexed, opposite the
      entry  thereof,  and  also upon the instrument itself, if the same be in
    
      his possession or produced to him for the purpose,  and  the  filing  of
      such instrument shall be constructive notice as to property in the block
      not  duly  designated at the time of such filing only from the time when
      the same shall be properly indexed.
        A   county   clerk   may   adopt   a  new  indexing  system  utilizing
      electro-mechanical, electronic or any other method he deems suitable for
      maintaining the indexes.