8.1 Maryland Mechanic's Lien Law

What a Mechanic's Lien Is

A mechanic's lien is a security interest in real property granted to a person who improves that property by furnishing labor or materials. If the owner does not pay, the lien lets the claimant force a sale of the property and take payment out of the proceeds. Maryland's mechanic's lien law is codified in the Maryland Code, Real Property Article (RP), Title 9.

Two features of Maryland law surprise candidates coming from other states:

• A Maryland mechanic's lien is created only by court order. You do not simply record a lien claim in the land records. The claimant files a petition in the circuit court, and the lien exists only if the court establishes it.
• Public property cannot be liened. On state, county, or municipal projects, the unpaid claimant's remedy is a claim against the payment bond under Maryland's Little Miller Act (see Section 8.3), not a lien.

Under RP § 9-102, a lien may attach to a building that is erected, repaired, rebuilt, or improved to the extent of 15% of its value. Trivial repairs that do not meet that threshold will not support a lien — a classic exam trap.

Who May Claim a Lien

The statute protects three tiers of claimant:

1. Contractors who contract directly with the owner
2. Subcontractors at any tier
3. Material suppliers who furnish materials used in the improvement

Architects, engineers, and land surveyors who furnish professional services for the improvement also have lien rights under Title 9. The key dividing line for procedure is whether the claimant contracted directly with the owner or not.

The Two Critical Deadlines

1. Notice of Intention to Claim a Lien — 120 Days (RP § 9-104)

A claimant who did not contract directly with the owner (the typical subcontractor or supplier) must serve a written Notice of Intention to Claim a Lien on the owner within 120 days after the work was done or the materials were furnished. The statute supplies the required form in RP § 9-104(b); the notice must substantially follow it and must include, among other things:

• The name and address of the claimant
• The name and address of the person with whom the claimant contracted
• A description of the work done or materials furnished
• The amount claimed to be due
• A description of the land and building sufficient to identify it

Service may be made by personal delivery or by certified mail. Maryland case law holds that mailing by certified mail within the 120-day window is sufficient even if the owner receives it after the deadline — but prudent practice is to serve early.

A claimant who contracts directly with the owner does not need to serve the notice of intention — the owner already knows who it is.

2. Petition to Establish a Mechanic's Lien — 180 Days (RP § 9-105)

Every claimant, including the direct contractor, must file a Petition to Establish a Mechanic's Lien in the circuit court of the county where the property is located within 180 days after the work was done or the materials were furnished. Both deadlines run from the same date: the claimant's last furnishing of labor or materials. They do not run from project completion, contract signing, or invoicing.

Miss either deadline and the lien right is gone — the claimant is left with an ordinary breach-of-contract suit against whoever hired it.

Protection for Owner-Occupied Residences

Because most MHIC work is residential, the exam emphasizes the special limits that protect homeowners. Under RP § 9-104(a)(2) and § 9-104(f), on a single-family dwelling being built on the owner's land for the owner's own residence (and additions to it):

• If the owner has made full payment to the general contractor before receiving a subcontractor's notice of intention, the owner has an absolute defense — no lien can attach, even though the subcontractor was never paid.
• If the owner has made only partial payment, the subcontractor's lien is capped at the amount the owner still owes the general contractor under their contract when the notice arrives.

Worked example. An owner owes $40,000 on a $100,000 contract with a licensed general contractor. The general fails to pay its roofing sub $18,000. The sub serves a timely notice of intention. The maximum lien is limited to the $40,000 still owed — and practically to the sub's $18,000 claim within that cap. Had the owner already paid the general the full $100,000 before the notice arrived, the sub would get no lien at all, only a contract claim against the general. The lesson the exam wants: owners should not pay in full before confirming subs and suppliers are paid, and subs should serve notice early.

The Licensing Bar

A contractor that performs home improvement work without an MHIC license cannot file a mechanic's lien and cannot sue to collect for that work. Maryland courts enforce this bar strictly because the Business Regulation Article makes unlicensed home improvement work unlawful. This is one of the most-tested intersections between the licensing law (Business Regulation Article, Title 8) and the lien law: the unlicensed contractor loses not just the lien remedy but the right to be paid at all for the home improvement work.

Common Traps

• Confusing the 120-day notice deadline (subcontractors/suppliers only) with the 180-day petition deadline (everyone).
• Thinking the deadlines run from project completion — they run from the claimant's own last furnishing.
• Forgetting that a direct contractor skips the notice step but never the petition step.
• Assuming a lien can attach to public property — it cannot.
• Assuming a repair under 15% of the building's value supports a lien — it does not.