The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Rules
BILL: CS/CS/SB 624
INTRODUCER: Rules Committee; Judiciary Committee; and Senators Grall and Perry
SUBJECT: Liens and Bonds
DATE: April 20, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Thomas Knudson BI Favorable
2. Collazo Cibula JU Fav/CS
3. Thomas Twogood RC Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/CS/SB 624 revises several provisions of the Construction Lien Law, which is codified in part
I of chapter 713, F.S. The bill:
 Modifies the notice of commencement, notice of termination, and notice of nonpayment
forms.
 Allows licensed general or building contractors providing construction or program
management services to claim construction liens for such services.
 Changes when a notice of termination must be recorded and served, and when such notice is
effective.
 Modifies service requirements for documents required by the Construction Lien Law.
 Authorizes a person intending to make a claim against a payment bond to serve the surety
with a copy of the notice of nonpayment, instead of an original document.
 Specifies that the methods for discharging a lien may also be used to release a lien, in whole
or in part, and modifies the requirements for recording a satisfaction or release of lien with
the clerk’s office.
 Increases the bond amount necessary to deposit or file with the clerk’s office to transfer a lien
to a security, and revises requirements related to the clerk’s certificate of deposit or filing.
 Entitles the prevailing party in an action to enforce a lien transferred to a security to recover
reasonable attorney fees.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 624 Page 2
 Specifies that after a clerk’s office records a notice of contest of claim against a payment
bond or a notice of contest of lien and a certificate of service for such notice, the clerk must
serve a copy of the recorded notice on the lienor and on the owner or the owner’s attorney.
 Authorizes a building permit applicant to provide the issuing authority with the clerk’s office
official records identifying information in lieu of a certified copy of the notice or a notarized
statement of filing.
 Provides methods for computing time periods for recording a document or filing an action
under the Construction Lien Law.
 Repeals s. 713.25, F.S., an outdated provision relating to the applicability of ch. 65-456,
Laws of Florida.
 Modifies the definition of “clerk’s office” and defines “finance charge.”
The bill does not appear to have a fiscal impact on state government, but may increase
expenditures for Clerks of the Circuit Court. The bill provides that the Clerks may charge fees as
authorized by law for these services, so any increase in expenditures should be offset by these
fees.
The bill provides an effective date of October 1, 2023.
II. Present Situation:
Florida law seeks to ensure that people working on construction projects are paid for their work.
Any person who provides services, labor, or materials for improving, repairing, or maintaining
real property (except public property) may place a construction lien1 on the property, provided
the person complies with statutory procedures.2 These procedures require the filing or serving of
various documents, including a:
 Notice of Commencement;3
 Notice to Owner;4
 Claim of Lien;5
 Notice of Termination;6
 Waiver or Release of Lien;7
1
A lien is a claim against property that evidences a debt, obligation, or duty. See 34 FLA. JUR. 2D, Liens s. 1 (describing a lien
as a charge on property for the payment or discharge of a debt or duty which may be created only by a contract of the parties
or by operation of law).
2
Chapter 713, F.S.
3
Section 713.13, F.S.
4
To secure construction lien rights, a person working on a construction project who is not in direct contract (“privity”) with
the owner must serve a notice to the owner in the statutory form provided; laborers are exempt from this requirement. The
notice informs the owner that someone with whom he or she is not in privity is providing services or materials on the
property and that such person expects the owner to ensure he or she is paid. The notice must be served no later than 45 days
after the person begins furnishing services or materials and before the date the owner disburses the final payment after the
contractor has furnished his or her final payment affidavit. After receiving a notice to owner, the owner must obtain a waiver
or release of lien from the notice’s sender before paying the contractor, unless a payment bond applies, or risk payments to
the contractor constituting improper payments that leave the owner liable to the notice sender if the contractor does not pay
such person. See generally s. 713.06, F.S.; see also Stock Bldg. Supply of Florida, Inc. v. Soares Da Costa Construction
Services, LLC, 76 So. 3d 313 (Fla 3d DCA 2011).
5
Section 713.08, F.S.
6
Section 713.132, F.S.
7
Section 713.20, F.S.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 624 Page 3
 Notice of Contest of Lien;8
 Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit;9 and
 Demand of Written Statement of Account.10
To record a construction lien on real property, the lienor must record a claim of lien with the
clerk’s office in the county where the property is located and serve the owner with the claim of
lien within 15 days after recording the lien.11 If a claim of lien is not recorded, the lien is
voidable to the extent that the failure to record the claim prejudices any person entitled to rely on
service of the claim of lien.12
A person may file a claim of lien at any time during the progress of the work but may not file a
claim of lien later than 90 days after the person’s final furnishing of labor or materials.13 A
person may record a single claim of lien for multiple services or materials provided to different
properties so long as such services or materials were provided under the same contract, the
person is in privity with the owner, and the properties have the same owner.14 However, a person
may not record a single claim of lien for multiple services or materials if there is more than one
contract, even if the contracts for services and materials are with the same owner.15
A construction lien extends to the right, title, and interest of the person who contracts for the
improvement to the extent such right, title, and interest exists at the improvement’s
commencement or is acquired in the real property.16 However, when a lessee makes an
improvement under an agreement between the lessee and his or her lessor, the lien also extends
to the lessor’s interest unless:17
 The lease, or a short form or a memorandum of the lease, is recorded in the official records of
the county where the property is located before the recording of a notice of commencement
for improvements to the property and the lease’s terms expressly prohibit such liability;
 The lease’s terms expressly prohibit such liability, and a notice advising that leases for the
rental of premises on a property prohibit such liability has been recorded in the official
records of the county in which the property is located before the recording of a notice of
commencement for improvements to the premises and the notice includes specified
information; or
 The lessee is a mobile home owner leasing a mobile home lot in a mobile home park.18
If a lease expressly provides that the lessor’s interest will not be subject to the construction liens
relating to improvements made by the lessee, the lessee must notify the contractor making any
8
Section 713.22(2), F.S.
9
Section 713.06(3), F.S.
10
Section 713.16, F.S.
11
Section 713.08(4)(c), F.S.
12
Id.
13
Section 713.08(5), F.S.
14
Section 713.09, F.S.
15
Id.; see also Lee v. All Florida Construction Co., 662 So. 2d 365, 366-67 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995).
16
Section 713.10(1), F.S.
17
Id.
18
Section 713.10(2)(b), F.S.
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such improvements of the lease provision, and the knowing and willful failure of the lessee to
provide such notice renders the contract voidable at the contractor’s option.19
Notice of Commencement
Before construction begins, a private property owner or the owner’s authorized agent generally
must file a notice of commencement with the clerk’s office20 and post a copy of the notice on the
property to be improved.21 The notice of commencement determines the priority of construction
liens, provides details needed to complete a notice to owner, establishes the date on which the
statute of limitations begins to run, and protects owners from double payments.22
A notice of commencement must be substantially similar to the statutorily-authorized form and
contain:
 Descriptions of the real property to be improved and the improvements;
 The name and address of the:
o Owner, fee simple title holder (if not the owner),23 contractor, and any person lending
money for the project, along with a description of the owner’s interest in the property;24
o Surety25 on a payment bond, if any, and the bond amount;
o Persons, designated by the owner;
 The notice’s expiration date; and
 A warning in uppercase type that the notice must be recorded, and that payments made after
the notice expires could be improper and lead to the owner paying twice.26
Further, a building permit applicant generally must file with the issuing authority, before the first
inspection, either a certified copy of the recorded notice of commencement or a notarized
statement that the notice was filed for recording, along with a copy of the notice.27 If a certified
copy of the notice of commencement is not filed with the issuing authority, the issuing authority
may not perform or approve subsequent inspections until the applicant files the certified copy;
however, the issuing authority is not liable in any civil action for failing to verify that the
building permit applicant submitted a certified copy of the notice of commencement.28
19
Section 713.10(2)(a), F.S.
20
“Clerk’s office” means the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the real property is located. Section
713.01(4), F.S.
21
A notice of commencement is not required for direct contracts for $2,500 or less or for air conditioning or heating system
repair or replacement for less than $15,000. A notice of commencement is also not required for public construction projects
because public property is not lienable. Sections 713.01(26), 713.02(5), 713.13, and 713.135(1)(d), F.S.
22
Stock Bldg. Supply, So. 3d at 319; see also Fred Dudley et al., Construction Lien Law Reform: The Equilibrium of Change,
18 FLA. ST. U. L. REV. 257, 277-78 (1991), https://ir.law.fsu.edu/lr/vol18/iss2/2.
23
Fee simple title is an interest in land that, being the broadest property interest allowed by law, endures until the current
holder dies without heirs. BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY (11th ed. 2019).
24
A lessee may contract for improvements as an owner but must be listed as the owner in the notice of commencement.
Section 713.13(1)(a)3., F.S.
25
A surety guarantees the performance or obligations of a second party (the principal) to a third party (the obligee) under a
three-party contract. National Association of Security Bond Providers, What are Surety Bonds, https://www.nasbp.org/
getabond/about-surety#:~:text=A%20surety%20bond%20is%20a,third%20party%20(the%20obligee) (last visited Mar. 18,
2023).
26
Section 713.13(1)(a)-(d), F.S.
27
Section 713.135(1)(d), F.S.
28
Section 713.135(1)(d) and (3), F.S.
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Payment Bonds and Related Notices
A payment bond is a type of surety bond that generally guarantees that all subcontractors,
laborers, and material suppliers will be paid for their work on, or materials contributed to, a
construction project.29 The bond forms a three-part contract between the owner, the contractor,
and the surety to ensure that liens are not filed on the property, serving as the security for
payment in lieu of the typical right to claim a lien. The payment bond must be furnished in at
least the amount of the original contract price before beginning the construction project, and a
copy of the bond must be attached to the recorded notice of commencement.30
For a private project, contractors are not obligated to obtain a payment bond, but current law
requires contractors to obtain a payment bond for public projects over $100,000.31 However, in
lieu of the payment bond, a contractor working on a public project may file with the state,
county, city, or other political authority an alternative form of security in the form of cash, a
money order, a certified check, a cashier’s check, an irrevocable letter of credit, or a security of a
type listed in part II of chapter 625, F.S., dealing with investments.32
Before paying a subcontractor, laborer, or material supplier, a contractor may request that such
person provide a waiver of right to claim against the payment bond. Such a waiver serves as a
receipt acknowledging payment for services performed or materials provided and waives the
ability to seek payment from the surety.33 Current law provides a statutory form for a waiver of
right to claim against a payment bond and prohibits a contractor from requiring anyone to sign a
waiver that is substantially different from the form.34
If the general contractor fails to pay a subcontractor, laborer, or material supplier, such person
may seek payment directly from the surety. In order to receive protection under a payment bond,
a subcontractor or material supplier35 not in privity with the contractor must serve the contractor
with a written notice of intent to seek protection under the bond.36 Such notice must be served no
later than 45 days after the first furnishing of services or materials for the project.37
An action to enforce a claim against the payment bond must be instituted against the contractor
or the surety within one year after the performance of the labor or completion of delivery of the
materials or supplies.38 If a claimant is no longer furnishing labor, services, or materials on a
project, a contractor may elect to shorten the time within which such an action must be
commenced by serving a notice of contest of claim against the payment bond on the claimant and
recording the notice in the clerk’s office along with a certificate of service.39 The claim of any
29
See generally s. 713.23, F.S.
30
Section 713.23(1)(a), F.S.
31
Section 255.05(1)(d), F.S.
32
Section 255.05(7), F.S.
33
Sections 255.05(2), and 713.235, F.S.
34
Id.
35
Laborers are exempt from this requirement. Sections 255.05(2)(a)2., 337.18(1)(c), and 713.23(1)(c), F.S.
36
Id.
37
Sections 255.05(2)(a)2. and 713.23(1)(c), F.S.
38
Sections 255.05(10) and 713.23(1)(e), F.S.
39
Section 255.05(2)(a)1. and 713.23(1)(e), F.S.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 624 Page 6
claimant who is served with such notice and who fails to file a lawsuit to enforce his or her claim
against the payment bond within 60 days of service is automatically extinguished.40
Transfer of Liens to Security
Any construction lien claimed may be transferred from the real property to a security by a person
with an interest in the real property or the contract under which the lien is claimed by either
depositing money or filing a bond with the clerk’s office.41 Cash deposited or a bond filed to
transfer a lien must be in an amount equal to the amount demanded in the lien, plus interest
thereon at the legal rate for 3 years, plus $1,000 or 25 percent of the demanded amount,
whichever is greater.42 Once such a deposit is made, the clerk must record a certificate showing
the transfer of the lien from the real property to the security, and upon the recording of such
certificate, the real property is released from