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Property lien with no written contract in GA

Hello, i am from Alpharetta GA. I have recently made renovations in my house and verbally agreed with the contractor without any written agreement. At the end contractor cam up with an invoice of 6k over the agreed price and i refused to pay this extra part. Now he is threatening me to put property lien. Just want to ask you if he can do that in GA without a written contract?

1 reply

Mar 30, 2020

Like most states, Georgia doesn't require that a construction business have a written contract in order for mechanics lien rights to arise. Still, the amount of their lien should be limited to the amounts agreed on under the terms of the agreement - and a claimant can't overstate their lien claim simply because the price wasn't written down. Of course, keep in mind that a lien claimant can still get their lien filed even if there's a dispute over what's owed. Though, if a claimant does pursue an exaggerated claim, then the property owner will generally be able to pursue claims against them for overstating that lien and could be entitled to attorney fees, damages, and potentially other penalties. So, threatening to pursue legal action against the would-be claimant might help to fend off the claim. Finally, I think these resources might be valuable: (1) I Just Received a Notice of Intent to Lien – What Should I Do Now?; and (2) A Mechanics Lien Was Filed on My Property – What Do I Do Now?

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