Let’s say that you hired a general contractor to put an addition on your home. The contractor probably doesn’t do everything on the addition. The electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and cooling systems are usually handled by specialists in those fields. This is called sub-contracting. The general contractor pays these companies to do their section of the job. Possibly other sub-contractors may come into play, such as masons for the foundation, framing crews, roofers, sheet rock crews and more.
But what happens if the general contractor does not pay these sub-contractors?
First, here is the obligatory disclaimer. I am not an attorney, do not use my opinions as legal advice. Use this info as a guideline only, always check with your own legal advisor.
Back to the subject. You hired a general contractor to put an addition onto your home. You paid the general contractor in full for the job, but the general contractor did not pay one (or more) of the sub-contractors. And the sub-contractor wants to get paid, and rightfully so. Quite often, if the sub-contractor cannot collect from the general contractor, the sub-contractor will come after you, the homeowner, for payment. To do this the sub-contractor will file a Construction Lien and try to legally collect from you, the homeowner.
Now, here is the way it has been explained to me.
If the homeowner has paid the general contractor in full, the sub-contractor has no claim against the homeowner. The sub-contractor must collect their payment from the general contractor.
However, if the home owner has not paid the general contract in full, the sub-contractor has a valid claim against the home owner.
If you would like to read other articles about dealing with contractors, in your home, visit our blog post for more articles. Or call me, Art Reiman, Realtor. My number is 732-598-7700.