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Can a cleaning, sanitizing, and drying company file a mechanics lien in California?

CaliforniaCollectionsRight to Lien

We are in the Property Restoration - Emergency Response Industry providing an array of services including but not limited to Water Mitigation. While the industry description of Water Mitigation Services can include properly cleaning, sanitizing, drying, repairing, and restoring a property to pre-water damage condition, many of our Mitigation jobs do not include restoration or repair. We generally invoice our repair services separately under a Structure Repair job invoice/ID. Our question is, for our California branches, are our Mitigation (cleaning, sanitizing, drying) balances eligible for the filing of a lien. We have been advised that these services/balances are ineligible because there are no materials provided that contribute to the repair of the property. Thank you for your assistance.

6 replies

Apr 1, 2020
I would respectfully disagree with that opinion. Mechanics liens secure the value of "work" provided to a "work of improvement" and work is defined to include services and work of improvement is defined to include repairs to property
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Apr 1, 2020
So long as the work requires a contractor's license, I agree that lien rights attach.
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Apr 1, 2020
I respectfully disagree with other counsel. The work must be a permanent work of improvement that improves the value of the property. Cleaning, sanitizing and drying work would not fall into that category.
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Apr 1, 2020
I am not an attorney, however I have seen customers attach liens for mitigation work when they are licensed. Especially if the work completed was for the benefit of the improvement of the home for some type of issues that made the home less valuable. If you are worried about being paid or have not been paid for your work then I would find an attorney that will agree with your position and use them to help you get paid.
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Apr 3, 2020
Typical cleaning services are not eligible for mechanic's lien rights. If the services are part of a "work of improvement" then they may be eligible. It depends upon the character of your work and the character of the project. The consequences of recording a lien in good faith where you ultimately cannot enforce it may not be severe, depending upon your contract, because recording a lien is a privileged act. However, recording a false lien could subject you to criminal and civil penalties.
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Apr 4, 2020
If your work is in furtherance of a work of improvement then it would arguably qualify for a lien. That means if your cleaning, sanitizing, drying etc., is done in connection with a broader project that involves improving the property through repair, restoration, or other construction, then you would qualify for a lien. See United Rentals Northwest, Inc. v. Snider Lumber Products, Inc. (2009) 174 Cal.App.4th 1479, 1485 [“'the entire structure or scheme of improvement as a whole' also does not mean that the removal or demolition of buildings is not a work of improvement"]
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