Question 1

Who must send a Maryland notice of intention to claim a lien?

Accepted Answer

A subcontractor, as Section 9-101(g) defines that word: a person who has a contract with anyone except the owner or his agent. That takes in trade subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment suppliers, anyone whose paperwork runs to the general contractor rather than to the owner. A contractor is defined separately in Section 9-101(d) as a person who has a contract with an owner, so a claimant in privity with the owner is outside Section 9-104 altogether. Nothing in Section 9-104 creates a dollar threshold below which the notice can be skipped, nor a carve-out for laborers.

Question 2

If a Maryland property has co-owners, must each one be served?

Accepted Answer

The owner, or the owner's agent, which is how the statutory form is headed. Section 9-104(c) frames delivery as being to the owner; Section 9-104(d) adds that where there is more than one owner, the subcontractor may comply by giving the notice to any of the owners, so co-owners do not each need a copy. Maryland names no other recipient: no construction lender, no general contractor, no surety. On a leasehold, check Section 9-101(f), under which owner means the owner of the land except that when the contractor executes the contract with a tenant for life or for years, owner means the tenant.

Question 3

How many days does Maryland give, counted from what?

Accepted Answer

The statute says within 120 days after doing the work or furnishing the materials. That is the wording in both paragraphs of subsection (a); on the owner-residence track it is narrowed to work or materials for or about that single family dwelling. Worth noting what the text does not say: it does not say last work, final delivery or completion, so a subcontractor whose involvement came in separate stints should treat the dates carefully rather than assume the clock starts at the end. Maryland offers no late option. Both paragraphs read as a bar, meaning a subcontractor is not entitled to a lien under the subtitle unless the notice was given inside the window.

Question 4

Does a Maryland new house follow a different rule?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in two ways that have nothing to do with the calendar. Where the building is a single family dwelling being erected on the owner's land for his own residence, Section 9-104(a)(2) entitles the subcontractor to a lien only if the owner has not made full payment to the contractor prior to receiving the notice. An owner who had already settled up with the builder defeats the claim even though the notice arrived on day 30. Then Section 9-104(f)(3) provides, notwithstanding anything else in the section, that such a lien shall not exceed the amount by which the owner is indebted under the contract at the time the notice is given. Both tests are measured at receipt, which makes the service date the single most valuable fact on an owner-built home.

Question 5

How must the Maryland notice be delivered?

Accepted Answer

Section 9-104(c) gives two routes. It is effective if given by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or personally delivered to the owner by the claimant or his agent. Those are the only two the subsection offers, so an ordinary posted letter, an email or a fax is not service here. The return receipt requirement is doing double duty: it is the delivery method and it is the evidence, since the receipt is what later shows the date the owner received the document. That date is also the measuring point for the owner-residence conditions, so keep the green card with the job file rather than in a mail room drawer.

Question 6

Can a Maryland notice be posted on the building?

Accepted Answer

Yes, under Section 9-104(e), but only as a fallback with its own conditions. If notice cannot be given on account of absence or other causes, the subcontractor or his agent may place the notice on the door or other front part of the building, in the presence of a competent witness, within the same 120 days. The witness is the statute's substitute for a return receipt, so record who it was, where the notice was fixed, what time. The subsection goes further in one situation: posting is sufficient in all cases where the owner of the property has died with his successors in title not appearing on the public records of the county.

Question 7

Which fields does the Maryland statutory form print?

Accepted Answer

Section 9-104(b) prints the form, then says it is sufficient if it contains the information required while being substantially in that form. The fields are the subcontractor's name; a general designation or brief description of the building; the total amount earned under the subcontractor's undertaking to the date of the notice; how much of that total is due and unpaid as of that date; a brief description of the work done or materials furnished, the time when the work was done or the materials furnished, plus the name of the person for whom the work was done or to whom the materials were furnished. It closes with a sworn line: I do solemnly declare and affirm under the penalties of perjury that the contents of the foregoing notice are true to the best of the affiant's knowledge, information, and belief. Where the subcontractor is not an individual, the signer signs on behalf of it.

Question 8

What happens after a Maryland owner receives it?

Accepted Answer

The money starts moving differently, which is the practical point of the step. Section 9-104(f)(1) provides that on receipt of the notice the owner may withhold, from sums due the contractor, the amount the owner ascertains to be due the subcontractor who gave it. Section 9-104(f)(2) adds that if that subcontractor goes on to establish a lien under the subtitle, the contractor receives only the difference between the amount due to the contractor plus that due to the subcontractor. So a served notice does not merely preserve a remedy for later. It gives the owner a reason to stop paying the general contractor the disputed amount now, which is often how these get resolved without anything further.

Maryland Notice of Intention to Claim a Lien (Section 9-104)

Find out where you stand in Maryland

Introduction

Key Things to Know

Key decisions before you file

Customize your Preliminary Notice Template with DocDraft

Maryland Requirements for Preliminary Notice

Only a Subcontractor Owes This Notice

Same 120 Days on Both Property Types, Different Test

On the Owner's Own New Home, the Service Date Sets the Ceiling

The Printed Form, With a Perjury Affirmation

The Owner, the Owner's Agent, or Any One of Several Owners

Registered or Certified Mail With Return Receipt, or Personal Delivery

Posting on the Door, Before a Competent Witness

Receipt Lets the Owner Withhold From the Contractor

Frequently Asked Questions