Illinois Subcontractor Notice to Owner

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Two Illinois notices, two address books. Section 21(c) is served on the occupant or the occupant's agent of the residence. Section 24 is provided to the owner of record, or the owner of record's agent or architect, or the superintendent having charge of the building, and to the lending agency if known.

2. 2

   The Section 21(c) clock is 60 days from your own first furnishing of labor, services, material, fixtures, apparatus or machinery, or forms or form work. It applies only to an existing owner-occupied single family residence, so commercial work is outside it.

3. 3

   A late Section 21(c) notice is not worthless, it is discounted. The statute says a notice given after 60 days still preserves the lien, but only to the extent that the owner has not been prejudiced by payments made prior to receipt of the notice.

4. 4

   Section 24 can go out early. The words are that subcontractors may give the notice at any time after making the contract with the contractor, and shall give it within 90 days after the completion of that contract, or within 90 days after completion of extra or additional work or final delivery of extra or additional material.

5. 5

   Both sections date service from dispatch, not arrival. Section 21(c) says notice by certified mail is considered served at the time of its mailing, and Section 24 says notice is considered served at the time it is placed with the delivery service or in the mail.

6. 6

   Section 21(c) prescribes the text. The notice must carry your name and address, the date you started work or started delivering, the type of work or material done and to be done, the name of the contractor requesting the work, a warning that the owner should get a lien waiver before paying, and the NOTICE TO OWNER paragraph in at least 10 point bold face type.

7. 7

   Public Act 103-827, effective January 1, 2025, amended sections 5, 21 and 24. It added a nationally recognized delivery company with tracking service as a Section 24 method and emptied section 5(b)(ii) and (iii), which now read as blank in the statute.

Illinois Requirements for Preliminary Notice

• The Occupant Receives the Section 21(c) Notice

  770 ILCS 60/21(c) requires the subcontractor to notify the occupant, either personally or by certified mail with return receipt requested, addressed to the occupant or the occupant's agent of the residence. The owner of record, the general contractor and the lender are not named in that subsection.

• Sixty Days From Your First Furnishing

  Section 21(c) sets 60 days from the subcontractor's first furnishing of labor, services, material, fixtures, apparatus or machinery, or forms or form work. It applies only where the property is an existing owner-occupied single family residence.

• A Late Notice Is Cut Back by the Prejudice Test

  Section 21(c) provides that any notice given after 60 days still preserves the subcontractor's lien, but only to the extent that the owner has not been prejudiced by payments made prior to receipt of the notice. The arithmetic is fixed at the date of receipt, so delay costs money rather than the whole claim.

• The Section 24 Notice Goes to the Owner of Record and the Lender

  770 ILCS 60/24(a) requires written notice of the claim and the amount due or to become due to be provided to the owner of record or the owner of record's agent or architect, or the superintendent having charge of the building or improvement, and to the lending agency, if known. It may be given at any time after making the contract with the contractor, and must be given within 90 days after completion of that contract, or within 90 days after completion of extra or additional work or final delivery of extra or additional material.

• The Prescribed NOTICE TO OWNER Paragraph in 10 Point Bold Face

  Section 21(c) requires the notice to carry the subcontractor's name and address, the date work or delivery started, the type of work or material done and to be done, and the name of the contractor requesting the work, plus a warning that the owner should receive a lien waiver executed by each subcontractor before paying, plus the statutory NOTICE TO OWNER paragraph. That warning must be in at least 10 point bold face type.

• Service Dates From Dispatch, Not Delivery

  Section 21(c) states that notice by certified mail is considered served at the time of its mailing. Section 24, as amended by Public Act 103-827 effective January 1, 2025, allows registered or certified mail with return receipt requested, a nationally recognized delivery company with tracking service, or personal service, and states that notice is considered served at the time it is placed with the delivery service or in the mail. Keep the postmark or the carrier acceptance record.

• When the Section 24 Notice Is Unnecessary, and When to Record Instead

  Section 24 says the notice is not necessary where the sworn statement of the contractor or subcontractor serves to give the owner notice of the amount due and to whom due, but a claimant named in an incorrect statement is protected only to the extent of the amount named in it. Section 25 allows notice by filing a verified claim with the recorder within the same 90 days where the owner of record, agent, architect, superintendent or lending agency cannot upon reasonable diligence be found in the county or does not reside there, and that satisfies Section 24 only as to those parties.

• Five Days to Answer a Written Request, and $50 Per Offense If You Do Not

  Section 22 requires a subcontractor, as often as requested in writing by the owner, the contractor or the agent of either, to give a statement of the persons furnishing labor, services, material, fixtures, apparatus or machinery, forms or form work and how much is due or to become due to each, under oath if required. Failure within 5 days of the demand forfeits $50 for every offense, bars any right of action against the owner or contractor until it is furnished, and subjects the lien to the liens of all other creditors. Section 21(e) separately provides that a pay-if-paid clause is no defense to a claim under Section 21, 22, 23 or 28.