Oregon Notice of Right to a Lien

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   ORS 87.021 calls this document a notice of right to a lien, and subsection (1) names exactly one required recipient: the owner of the site. It is not a lien, and the statutory form says so in capitals, THIS IS NOT A LIEN.

2. 2

   Oregon has no fixed cutoff date. ORS 87.021(1) lets the notice be given at any time during the progress of the improvement, but it protects only materials, equipment, labor and services provided after a date eight days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and ORS 187.010 holidays, before the notice was delivered or mailed.

3. 3

   Because that count runs backward from your own mailing date, serving within eight business days of first furnishing is what covers the job from day one. Serve later and ORS 87.021(3)(a) lets the lien be perfected only to the extent the notice was given, so earlier work drops out of the protected window.

4. 4

   Commercial work is carved out completely. ORS 87.021(3)(b) says a person who performs labor on a commercial improvement, provides labor and material for one, or rents equipment used in constructing one need not give the notice at all. A commercial improvement is any structure or building not used or intended to be used as a residential building.

5. 5

   ORS 87.018(1) allows two delivery methods and no others: in writing, delivered in person or by registered or certified mail. The one exception named in that subsection is the Information Notice to Owner under ORS 87.093, which may also go by first class mail with certificate of mailing.

6. 6

   ORS 87.023 prints the form, and the notice must be substantially in it. That includes the heading NOTICE OF RIGHT TO A LIEN, the warning READ THIS NOTICE, PROTECT YOURSELF FROM PAYING ANY CONTRACTOR OR SUPPLIER TWICE FOR THE SAME SERVICE, the date of mailing, the eight day look-back sentence, and the IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR YOUR PROTECTION page on the reverse.

7. 7

   An owner who receives one may hit back with a written demand under ORS 87.027 for a list of what was supplied or a statement of the contractual basis including percentage complete. The supplier has 15 days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and ORS 187.010 holidays, and failing to answer costs the attorney fees and costs that would otherwise be allowable.

Oregon Requirements for Preliminary Notice

• The Owner of the Site Is the Required Recipient

  ORS 87.021(1) names one mandatory recipient: the owner of the site. A person furnishing materials, equipment, services or labor for which a lien may be perfected shall give a notice of right to a lien to the owner of the site, unless that work was furnished at the request of the owner.

• Two Conditional Copies: Mortgagee and Original Contractor

  A person furnishing material or supplies must deliver to a mortgagee of record, within eight days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and ORS 187.010 holidays after the delivery date, a copy of the owner notice or a notice giving substantially the same information as the ORS 87.023 form (ORS 87.025(3)), and only where the mortgagee is named in a recorded instrument (ORS 87.018(2)). On a commercial job, ORS 87.021(4) makes an owner indemnity clause unenforceable as to a notice lien unless a copy reaches the original contractor within 10 days of the owner receiving it.

• The Eight Business Day Look-Back, Counted From Your Mailing Date

  ORS 87.021(1) sets no cutoff date. The notice may be given at any time during the progress of the improvement, but it only protects the right to perfect a lien for materials, equipment and labor or services provided after a date eight days, not including Saturdays, Sundays and ORS 187.010 holidays, before the notice is delivered or mailed. The count runs backward from your own mailing date, so serve within eight business days of first furnishing to cover the job from day one.

• Serving Late Shrinks the Protected Window, It Does Not Bar You

  ORS 87.021(3)(a) provides that the lien may be perfected only to the extent that the notice required by subsection (1) is given. A notice delivered months into the job is still valid, but it reaches only what was provided from eight business days before delivery onward, so the earlier work falls outside it.

• Commercial Improvements and Owner-Requested Work Are Exempt

  ORS 87.021(3)(b) excuses a person who performs labor upon a commercial improvement, provides labor and material for a commercial improvement, or rents equipment used in the construction of a commercial improvement. A commercial improvement is any structure or building not used or intended to be used as a residential building; a residential building is one the owner will occupy as a residence with not more than four residence units. ORS 87.021(1) separately excepts work furnished at the request of the owner, and closes with a carve-out that no lien is created under ORS 87.010(5) or (6) for services provided for an owner-occupied residence at the request of an agent of the owner.

• Personal Delivery or Registered or Certified Mail, Nothing Else

  ORS 87.018(1) requires all notices under ORS 87.001 to 87.060 and 87.075 to 87.093 to be in writing and delivered in person or by registered or certified mail, with the single exception of the ORS 87.093 Information Notice to Owner, which may also go by first class mail with certificate of mailing. ORS 87.021 prescribes no proof of service declaration, so the mailing receipt and the date of mailing entered on the form are the proof, and the look-back is measured from that date.

• The ORS 87.023 Form and Its Prescribed Warnings

  ORS 87.021(2) requires the notice to be substantially in the ORS 87.023 form. That form fixes the heading NOTICE OF RIGHT TO A LIEN, the warning READ THIS NOTICE, PROTECT YOURSELF FROM PAYING ANY CONTRACTOR OR SUPPLIER TWICE FOR THE SAME SERVICE, the owner name and address, the date of mailing, the description of what is being provided and who ordered it, the property location, the eight day look-back sentence, the warning that the property may still be subject to a lien even if the owner or mortgage lender paid in full, the words THIS IS NOT A LIEN, the sender block, and the IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR YOUR PROTECTION page on the reverse.

• The Owner Demand, and the Contractor's Own Information Notice to Owner

  ORS 87.027 lets an owner who receives the notice demand in writing a list of what was supplied or a statement of the contractual basis including percentage complete; the supplier has 15 days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and ORS 187.010 holidays, and failing to answer costs the attorney fees and costs otherwise allowable. Separately, ORS 87.093 requires each original contractor to deliver the Construction Contractors Board Information Notice to Owner at the time of signing a residential construction or improvement contract where the aggregate price exceeds $2,000, with a five day catch-up if the price crosses that figure later and no duty where the owner is a board-licensed contractor. ORS 87.093(6) bars the lien for that contract if it is skipped, and ORS 87.093(7) allows license suspension or a civil penalty of not more than $5,000.