Pennsylvania’s Mechanics Lien Law of 1963 was amended in late 2014 to require the commonwealth’s Department of General Services to create an internet-based State Construction Notices Directory. As required by the law, the directory went live on Dec. 31, 2016, providing a standardized, statewide, internet-based system for construction notices. This statutory scheme imposes new requirements on project owners, contractors, and subcontractors, compliance with which can drastically affect those parties’ rights under the Mechanics Lien Law. Practitioners representing any of the traditional parties in a construction matter should be sure to familiarize themselves with these new provisions, and advise their clients accordingly.
The Basics of the New Provisions
Under the new provisions of the Mechanics’ Lien Law, the directory provides a database for any “searchable project,” defined as “a project consisting of the erection and construction, or alteration or repair, of an improvement costing a minimum of $1,5 million,” 49 P.S. Section 1201(18). Pursuant to the new scheme, the owner of a searchable project (or the contractor on a searchable project, with the owner’s permission) may file a notice of commencement with the directory. The notice of commencement must be filed prior to the commencement of any labor, work or furnishing of materials for the project, and must identify, among other things, the owner, contractor and location of the project. See 49 P.S. Section 1501.3(a). Additionally, if a notice of commencement is filed, the owner must post a copy of the notice at the project site before work begins, and must also (along with the contractor) “make reasonable efforts” to ensure that the notice is a part of the contract documents provided to subcontractors on the project.
