What is a Notice to Owner and why did I get one in Florida?

Answers (1)

1. LE

   LokalMatch EditorialLokalMatch editorial

   Answered September 24, 2026

   It is the document that keeps their lien rights alive, and it has just made you responsible for watching where your money goes. In Florida a lienor who has no direct contract with you must serve a Notice to Owner before starting, or no later than forty-five days after starting, to furnish labor, services or materials.

   Missing that deadline is fatal to them. Failure to serve the notice, or to serve it on time, is a complete defense to enforcement of the lien.

   Once you have one, the statute flips the obligation onto you. You must pay the sum then due to each lienor who gave notice before the time of payment, and you are under no obligation to a lienor — laborers aside — from whom you received no notice at the time you made a payment. So the notices you have received are the list of people who must be paid out of the next check.

   Before the final payment, ask for the contractor's final payment affidavit. It has to state whether every lienor who timely served a Notice to Owner has been paid in full and, if not, name them. It is a prerequisite to the contractor enforcing a lien against you, and it is the cheapest audit of your own job you will ever get.

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Sources

Where the facts on this page come from.

1. 1

   Florida Statutes section 713.06: Laborers and persons not in privity — The Florida Senate (accessed September 24, 2026)