My company is a subcontractor that have been hired to do a job in Georgia. The owner of the property demanded they be removed for the preliminary notice we sent. They said they would get their lawyers involved if we filed a lien since they did not order the services we provided. I did retract the letter but I'm not sure if that was the correct thing to do. We're predicting we won't have a payment issue, however, we want to make sure our lien rights and payment are protected. Should the lessee be added as a recipient of the notice or can they be liable if we do have payment issues? Do they already have protection against any lien claims filed under Georgia law because they didn't order the services we were hired to do?
[B]y contracting for improvements to be made upon leased premises, a tenant does not create a basis for imposing a materialman's lien against the landlord's interest in the premises 'unless there is some relation existing between him and his landlord other than that of lessor and lessee, by virtue of which the landlord expressly or impliedly consents to the contract under which the improvements are made.' As stated in O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361(b) [the lien statute], a materialman's lien may attach to the real estate for which the labor, services, or materials were furnished if they are furnished 'at instance of the owner' or 'some person acting for the owner.' ... [A] materialman's lien can be enforced against the property interest of the landlord only to the extent that the tenant was the agent of the landlord in contracting for the work. ... [A] tenant acts as an agent for the landlord, to the extent that the landlord has contracted with the tenant to pay for the improvements to the property. To charge the premises of the landlord with liability for cost of improvements made by the tenant, the landlord 'must expressly or impliedly authorize the tenant to make the improvements for the former's benefit.' Where ... the tenant is responsible for paying for the improvements to the property, it acts for its own benefit and not as the landlord's agent in contracting for the work. Neither the landlord's right to approve plans for the improvements nor its right to receive additional rent if the tenant's revenues exceed certain amounts changes this result.Worley v. Cowper Constr. Co., 259 Ga. App. 263, 264, 576 S.E.2d 645, 646 (2003) (internal citations and quotations omitted for readability). To know whether the landlord's complaining and threats about the preliminary notice are valid, you'll need to find out whether the tenant claims the landlord will be paying for the work, and if so, on what the tenant bases that claim.