101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB3427

 

Introduced 2/14/2020, by Sen. Rachelle Crowe

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
770 ILCS 60/7  from Ch. 82, par. 7
770 ILCS 60/24  from Ch. 82, par. 24

    Amends the Mechanics Lien Act. Provides that no contractor or subcontractor (rather than just a contractor) shall be allowed to enforce a lien against or to the prejudice of any other creditor or incumbrancer or purchaser, unless within 4 months after completion of all work, including extra or additional work under the contractor's contract with the owner (rather than completion or if extra or additional work is delivered within 4 months after the completion of such work), he or she shall either bring an action to enforce his or her lien or shall file in the office of the recorder of the county in which the building, erection, or other improvement to be charged with the lien is situated, a claim for lien, verified by an affidavit. Provides that written notice by a subcontractor shall be due upon the completion of the work under the contractor's contract with the owner.


LRB101 18019 LNS 67457 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3427LRB101 18019 LNS 67457 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Mechanics Lien Act is amended by changing
5Sections 7 and 24 as follows:
 
6    (770 ILCS 60/7)  (from Ch. 82, par. 7)
7    Sec. 7. Claim for lien; third parties; errors or
8overcharges; multiple buildings or lots.
9    (a) No contractor or subcontractor shall be allowed to
10enforce such lien against or to the prejudice of any other
11creditor or incumbrancer or purchaser, unless within 4 months
12after completion of all work, including any or if extra or
13additional work, is done or labor, services, material,
14fixtures, apparatus or machinery, forms or form work, under the
15contractor's contract with the owner is delivered therefor
16within 4 months after the completion of such extra or
17additional work or the final delivery of such extra or
18additional labor, services, material, fixtures, apparatus or
19machinery, forms or form work, he or she shall either bring an
20action to enforce his or her lien therefor or shall file in the
21office of the recorder of the county in which the building,
22erection or other improvement to be charged with the lien is
23situated, a claim for lien, verified by the affidavit of

 

 

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1himself or herself, or his or her agent or employee, which
2shall consist of a brief statement of the claimant's contract,
3the balance due after allowing all credits, and a sufficiently
4correct description of the lot, lots or tracts of land to
5identify the same. Such claim for lien may be filed at any time
6after the claimant's contract is made, and as to the owner may
7be filed at any time after the contract is made and within 2
8years after the completion of the contractor's contract with
9the owner, including or the completion of any extra work or the
10furnishing of any extra labor, services, material, fixtures,
11apparatus or machinery, forms or form work thereunder, and as
12to such owner may be amended at any time before the final
13judgment. No such lien shall be defeated to the proper amount
14thereof because of an error or overcharging on the part of any
15person claiming a lien therefor under this Act, unless it shall
16be shown that such error or overcharge is made with intent to
17defraud; nor shall any such lien for material be defeated
18because of lack of proof that the material after the delivery
19thereof, actually entered into the construction of such
20building or improvement, although it be shown that such
21material was not actually used in the construction of such
22building or improvement; provided, that it is shown that such
23material was delivered either to the owner or his or her agent
24for that building or improvement, to be used in that building
25or improvement, or at the place where said building or
26improvement was being constructed, for the purpose of being

 

 

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1used in construction or for the purpose of being employed in
2the process of construction as a means for assisting in the
3erection of the building or improvement in what is commonly
4termed forms or form work where concrete, cement or like
5material is used, in whole or in part.
6    (b) In case of the construction of a number of buildings
7under contract between the same parties, it shall be sufficient
8in order to establish such lien for material, if it be shown
9that such material was in good faith delivered at one of these
10buildings for the purpose of being used in the construction of
11any one or all of such buildings, or delivered to the owner or
12his or her agent for such buildings, to be used therein; and
13such lien for such material shall attach to all of said
14buildings, together with the land upon which the same are being
15constructed, the same as in a single building or improvement.
16In the event the contract relates to 2 or more buildings on 2
17or more lots or tracts of land, then all of these buildings and
18lots or tracts of land may be included in one statement of
19claims for a lien.
20    (c) A statement that a party is a subcontractor shall not
21constitute an admission by the lien claimant that its status is
22that of subcontractor if it is later determined that the party
23with whom the lien claimant contracted was the owner or an
24agent of the owner.
25    (d) A contractor for improvements of an owner-occupied
26single-family residence must give the owner written notice

 

 

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1within 10 days after recording a lien against any property of
2the owner. The notice is served when it is sent or personally
3delivered. If timely notice is not given and, as a result, the
4owner has suffered damages before notice is given, the lien is
5extinguished to the extent of the damages. The mere recording
6of the lien claim is not considered damages. This subsection
7does not apply to subcontractors, and it applies only to
8contracts entered into after the effective date of this
9amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly.
10(Source: P.A. 96-654, eff. 1-1-10.)
 
11    (770 ILCS 60/24)  (from Ch. 82, par. 24)
12    Sec. 24. Written notice by sub-contractor; service; when
13notice not necessary; form of notice.
14    (a) Sub-contractors, or parties furnishing labor,
15materials, fixtures, apparatus, machinery, or services, may at
16any time after making his or her contract with the contractor,
17and shall within 90 days after the completion of the work under
18the contractor's contract with the owner thereof, or, if extra
19or additional work or material is delivered thereafter, within
2090 days after the date of completion of such extra or
21additional work or final delivery of such extra or additional
22material under the contractor's contract with the owner, cause
23a written notice of his or her claim and the amount due or to
24become due thereunder, to be sent by registered or certified
25mail, with return receipt requested, and delivery limited to

 

 

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1addressee only, to or personally served on the owner of record
2or his agent or architect, or the superintendent having charge
3of the building or improvement and to the lending agency, if
4known; and such notice shall not be necessary when the sworn
5statement of the contractor or subcontractor provided for
6herein shall serve to give the owner notice of the amount due
7and to whom due, but where such statement is incorrect as to
8the amount, the subcontractor or material man named shall be
9protected to the extent of the amount named therein as due or
10to become due to him or her. For purposes of this Section,
11notice by registered or certified mail is considered served at
12the time of its mailing.
13    The form of such notice may be as follows: To (name of
14owner): You are hereby notified that I have been employed by
15(the name of contractor) to (state here what was the contract
16or what was done, or to be done, or what the claim is for) under
17his or her contract with you, on your property at (here give
18substantial description of the property) and that there was due
19to me, or is to become due (as the case may be) therefor, the
20sum of $.....
21    Dated at .... this .... day of ....., .....
22
(Signature).....
23    (b) The serving of notice pursuant to subsection (a) of
24this Section shall not constitute an admission by the lien
25claimant that its status is that of subcontractor if it is
26later determined that the party with whom the lien claimant

 

 

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1contracted was the owner or an agent of the owner.
2(Source: P.A. 94-627, eff. 1-1-06.)