Florida Construction Liens: What Title Professionals Need to Know About Chapter 713 Risks
Few things derail a Florida closing faster than a construction lien nobody saw coming. A subcontractor who never got paid for materials delivered six months ago. A landscaper who finished the job last spring and is still owed a check. Under Florida's Construction Lien Law, any of those parties can record a claim that clouds title and stops a transaction in its tracks.
If you handle closings on properties that have had recent work done, Chapter 713 of the Florida Statutes is something you can't afford to misread. This guide walks through what title professionals should watch for, why standard searches don't always catch the risk, and how to keep construction lien exposure from becoming a closing-day fire drill.
What Chapter 713 Actually Does
Florida's Construction Lien Law, codified in Chapter 713, gives contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers the right to file a lien against real property when they haven't been paid for work or materials. The law is designed to protect the people who build and improve property, but it creates real exposure for buyers, lenders, and title companies if the chain of payment isn't clean.
The mechanics are straightforward in theory. A contractor performs work or supplies materials. If they don't get paid, they can record a Claim of Lien in the public records of the county where the property sits. Once recorded, that lien attaches to the property and becomes the new owner's problem unless it's properly addressed before closing.
Chapter 713 runs on deadlines, and missing them can either save a property from a lien or expose it to one. Three dates matter most for title professionals.
CHAPTER 713 KEY DEADLINES
The 90-Day Window. A lienor generally has 90 days from their last day of furnishing labor, services, or materials to record a Claim of Lien. That means even if work wrapped up months ago, a lien can still appear in the public records as long as it falls within that window.
The 45-Day Notice to Owner. Most lienors who don't have a direct contract with the property owner must serve a Notice to Owner within 45 days of first beginning work. If they miss that window, they typically lose their lien rights, which is one of the most common defenses against an after-closing surprise lien.
The One-Year Lien Duration. Once recorded, a Claim of Lien is generally valid for one year unless the lienor files a foreclosure action. After one year with no foreclosure, the lien typically becomes unenforceable, though it can still cloud title until it's formally released.
These aren't the only deadlines in Chapter 713, but they're the ones that most directly affect what you'll see during a title search and how to interpret it.
3 Reasons Construction Liens Slip Past Standard Title Searches
Even thorough searches can miss construction lien exposure, because the risk often lives outside what a routine search picks up. Here are the most common gaps.
WHERE SEARCHES FALL SHORT
1. The 90-Day Lag. A contractor who finished work two months ago has plenty of time left to file. Your title search may come back clean, but a lien recorded the day after closing is still a problem if the work was performed before the deed transferred. This is why ordering a search too early in the process can leave you exposed.
2. Notices of Commencement That Were Never Closed Out. When a Notice of Commencement is recorded, it signals that work is in progress and that lien rights may be active. If construction wraps up but the Notice of Commencement is never properly terminated, the property remains in a "lienable" state, and you may need to dig deeper than the standard public records search to confirm everyone has been paid.
3. Out-of-State Suppliers and Subcontractors. Material suppliers who served the project from outside Florida often get overlooked in pre-closing checks. They may have proper Notice to Owner documentation on file, but if they weren't part of the contractor's main payment chain, the property owner may not even know they exist until a lien appears.
Notice of Commencement: The Document That Tells You to Slow Down
The Notice of Commencement, governed by Florida Statute 713.13, is a recorded document that establishes the start of a construction project and triggers the lien rights protected under Chapter 713. For title professionals, finding an active Notice of Commencement during a search is a clear signal to pause and ask hard questions.
An active Notice of Commencement means there's a window during which lienors can still claim rights against the property. Before closing on a property with one on record, you'll typically want documentation that the contractor and all known lienors have been paid in full, releases of lien from each party, and ideally a Termination of Notice of Commencement filed before the deed transfers.
Skipping these steps can leave a buyer holding the bag on construction debts they had no part in creating.
Lien Releases: Partial vs. Final, and Why It Matters
Florida recognizes two main types of lien releases, and the difference matters more than people often realize.
PARTIAL vs. FINAL RELEASE OF LIEN
Partial Release of Lien. Issued when a contractor or subcontractor is paid for a portion of the work completed to date. It releases lien rights only for the amount paid through a specific date, leaving open the possibility of future lien claims for unpaid work after that date.
Final Release of Lien. Issued when the lienor has been paid in full and waives all future lien rights related to the project. This is the document you generally want at closing.
Collecting Final Releases from every party who could possibly file a lien is the best protection, but it's also where things get complicated. Title professionals often have to chase down releases from subcontractors and suppliers the seller didn't even remember hiring.
How Construction Liens Connect to Other Title Risks
Construction liens rarely show up in isolation. When a property has Chapter 713 exposure, it often comes bundled with other risks worth checking.
Municipal liens and code enforcement issues. Properties with recent unpermitted construction work may also have open code violations or unpaid permit fees. A thorough municipal lien search can surface these problems before they become closing-day surprises.
Unrecorded materialmen claims. Suppliers may have invoices outstanding even if they haven't yet recorded a lien. Asking the seller for a list of all contractors and suppliers used on the project is a smart preventive step.
Lender priority disputes. Construction liens can sometimes claim priority over later-recorded mortgages depending on when the Notice of Commencement was filed. This affects loan policy underwriting and may require additional indemnification from the seller.
Practical Steps to Reduce Construction Lien Exposure
You can't eliminate construction lien risk entirely, but you can shrink it significantly with a disciplined process.
Search the public records close to closing. If a property has had recent construction work, refresh the search as close to the closing date as possible. A search done 30 days before closing may miss a lien recorded the day before signing.
Look for Notices of Commencement. If you find one, treat it as a warning sign, not a routine entry. Verify the project's status, check for releases, and confirm whether termination has been filed.
Collect lien waivers from everyone. Don't rely on the general contractor alone. Get Final Releases from subcontractors, material suppliers, and anyone else who might have lien rights under Chapter 713.
Use sworn statements of account. A Contractor's Final Affidavit, required under Florida Statute 713.06 in many cases, lists all unpaid lienors and creates a paper trail you can rely on.
Consider title insurance endorsements. For properties with significant recent construction, ask the underwriter about endorsements that specifically address construction lien risk. They aren't free, but they can save a closing from collapsing later.
How This Affects Title Support and Post-Closing
For title support teams, Chapter 713 work tends to land at the worst possible moment, often days before closing, when a Notice of Commencement turns up or a contractor calls asking about payment. Building lien-related checks into the standard title search workflow rather than treating them as one-off escalations is the difference between a calm closing and a scramble.
It also affects post-closing. Lien and risk monitoring can catch construction-related claims that surface after the deed transfers, which gives owners and lenders a chance to address them before they ripen into bigger problems. For title teams handling high volumes of resale closings on recently built or renovated properties, ongoing monitoring is becoming less of a nice-to-have and more of a baseline expectation.
The Bottom Line
Florida's Construction Lien Law gives a lot of power to the people who build and improve property, and that power can quietly attach to a parcel long after the work itself is finished. For title professionals, the key is treating Chapter 713 not as a niche legal issue but as a regular part of due diligence on any property that has seen recent construction or renovation.
The closings that go smoothly are the ones where someone took the time to ask the right questions early: Is there an open Notice of Commencement? Have all the subcontractors been paid? Are there Final Releases on file? Answering those questions before the closing table is far easier than untangling a lien dispute after the deed records.
A practical guide to the Title Acceptance pilot, covering eligibility, workflow changes, risk controls, and what title teams must document and protect.
