Wisconsin Construction Lien Notice to Owner

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   The Wisconsin notice to owner is a prescribed paragraph, not a letter you compose. Section 779.02(2)(b) says the notice shall be in substantially the statutory language, with blanks accurately filled in, and the only blanks are the date you first performed, furnished or procured, and a legal description, street address or other clear description of the real estate.

2. 2

   The prime contractor has a separate prescribed paragraph under 779.02(2)(a), which goes inside any written contract with the owner, with a copy of that contract given to the owner. It must be in at least 8-point bold type if printed, or in capital letters if typewritten.

3. 3

   Serve 2 signed copies on the owner or authorized agent at the last-known post-office address. The second copy exists because 779.02(2)(b) obliges the owner or agent to forward a copy, within 10 days after receipt, to any mortgage lender furnishing or to furnish construction funds.

4. 4

   Timing splits by role. Every person other than a prime contractor has 60 days after performing, furnishing or procuring the first labor, services, materials, plans or specifications. A prime contractor with no written contract serves separately within 10 days of the first work done under its authority.

5. 5

   Five classes owe nothing under 779.02(1), and the biggest is paragraph (1)(c): no notice is required on an improvement that is partly or wholly nonresidential in character, or on a wholly residential improvement where more than 4 family living units are to be provided or added.

6. 6

   Service is a defined term. Section 779.01(2)(e) allows personal delivery, delivery by registered or certified mail, service in the manner described for a summons under section 801.14, or any other means of delivery in which the recipient makes written confirmation of the delivery.

7. 7

   If the owner or lender complains that a notice was insufficient, 779.02(2)(e) puts the burden of proof on that owner or lender to show he or she was misled or deceived by the insufficiency. Notice to any one of several owners or to an authorized agent is sufficient.

Wisconsin Requirements for Preliminary Notice

• The Wording Is Printed in Section 779.02(2)(b)

  The notice to the owner shall be in substantially the statutory language, with blanks accurately filled in. Only two blanks exist: the date the claimant first performed, furnished or procured, and the owner's real estate given as a legal description, street address or other clear description. Reproduce the paragraph rather than paraphrasing it.

• The Prime Contractor Has a Different Prescribed Paragraph

  Section 779.02(2)(a) requires every prime contractor who has contracted or will contract with subcontractors, suppliers or service providers to include its own prescribed notice in any written contract with the owner, and to give the owner a copy of that contract. It must be in at least 8-point bold type if printed, or in capital letters if typewritten.

• Two Signed Copies to the Owner, Who Forwards One to the Lender

  Serve 2 signed copies on the owner or authorized agent at the last-known post-office address. The owner or agent must then provide a copy, within 10 days after receipt, to any mortgage lender furnishing or to furnish construction funds. Notice to any one of several owners or to an authorized agent is sufficient.

• Sixty Days for Everyone Except the Prime Contractor

  Every person other than a prime contractor has the lien and remedy only if the notice is served within 60 days after performing, furnishing or procuring the first labor, services, materials, plans or specifications. A prime contractor without a written contract instead serves within 10 days of the first work performed, furnished or procured under its authority.

• Nonresidential and Larger Residential Work Is Exempt

  Paragraph 779.02(1)(c) requires no notice from any lien claimant where more than 4 family living units are to be provided or added by a wholly residential improvement, or where the improvement is partly or wholly nonresidential in character. The duty attaches to wholly residential work of 4 or fewer family living units. Attorney review is available where a project sits near that line.

• Four More Exempt Classes Under Section 779.02(1)

  No notice is required of a laborer or mechanic employed by a prime contractor or subcontractor; of a claimant who contracted directly with the owner, unless it is a prime contractor subject to 779.02(2)(a); of a prime contractor who owns the land or is tied to the corporate owner as officer or controlling shareholder; or of any non-prime claimant on a project where the prime contractor owes no notice.

• Serve Is Defined, and the Insufficiency Burden Falls on the Owner

  Section 779.01(2)(e) permits personal delivery, registered or certified mail, service in the manner described for a summons under section 801.14, or any other means of delivery in which the recipient makes written confirmation. Section 779.02(2)(e) then places the burden on an owner or lender complaining of insufficiency to show that he or she was misled or deceived by it.

• A Late Notice Reaches Only Work Furnished After Actual Receipt

  Section 779.02(3) leaves a non-prime claimant who gave no notice with no lien on the land or improvement to which the failure relates, but gives a claimant who serves a late yet otherwise proper notice the section 779.01 lien for labor, services, materials, plans or specifications furnished after the late notice is actually received by the owner. The claimant carries the burden of proving what was furnished after that date, so fix the receipt date and split your delivery records around it.