State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Utah > Title-38 > Chapter-11 > 38-11-10738-11-107. Restrictions upon maintaining a lien against residence or owner'sinterest in the residence.
(1) (a) A person qualified to file a lien upon an owner-occupied residence and the realproperty associated with that residence under Chapter 1, Mechanics' Liens, who providesqualified services under an agreement, other than directly with the owner, is barred frommaintaining a lien upon that residence and real property or recovering a judgment in any civilaction against the owner or the owner-occupied residence to recover money owed for qualifiedservices provided by that person if:
(i) an owner meets the conditions described in Subsections 38-11-204(4)(a) and (b); or
(ii) (A) a subsequent owner purchases a residence from an owner;
(B) the subsequent owner who purchased the residence under Subsection (1)(a)(ii)(A)occupies the residence as a primary or secondary residence within 180 days from the date oftransfer or the residence is occupied by the subsequent owner's tenant or lessee as a primary orsecondary residence within 180 days from the date of transfer; and
(C) the owner from whom the subsequent owner purchased the residence met theconditions described in Subsections 38-11-204(4)(a) and (b).
(b) (i) As used in this Subsection (1)(b):
(A) "Contract residence":
(I) means the owner-occupied residence for which a subcontractor provides service,labor, or materials; and
(II) includes the real property associated with that owner-occupied residence.
(B) "General contract" means an oral or written contract between an owner and anoriginal contractor for providing service, labor, or materials for construction on anowner-occupied residence.
(C) "Subcontractor" means a person who provides service, labor, or materials forconstruction on an owner-occupied residence under an agreement other than directly with theowner.
(ii) A subcontractor qualified to file a lien upon a contract residence under Chapter 1,Mechanics' Liens, is barred from maintaining a lien upon that contract residence or fromrecovering a judgment in a civil action against the owner, the contract residence, or, as providedin Subsection (1)(b)(iii), a subsequent owner to recover for service, labor, or materials providedby the subcontractor:
(A) if the amount of the general contract under which the subcontractor provides service,labor, or materials totals no more than $5,000; and
(B) whether or not the original contractor is licensed under Title 58, Chapter 55, UtahConstruction Trades Licensing Act.
(iii) A subsequent owner is protected under Subsection (1)(b)(ii) to the same extent as anowner if:
(A) the subsequent owner purchases the contract residence from the owner; and
(B) (I) the subsequent owner occupies the residence as a primary or secondary residencewithin 180 days after the date of transfer; or
(II) the subsequent owner's tenant or lessee occupies the residence as a primary orsecondary residence within 180 days after the date of the transfer.
(2) If a residence is constructed under conditions that do not meet all of the provisions ofSubsection (1)(a) or (b), that residence and the real property associated with that residence as
provided in Section 38-1-4 shall be subject to any mechanics' lien as provided in Section 38-1-3.
(3) A lien claimant who files a mechanics' lien under Chapter 1, Mechanics' Liens, or aforeclosure action upon an owner-occupied residence is not liable for costs and attorney feesunder Sections 38-1-17 and 38-1-18 or for any damages arising from a civil action related to thelien filing or foreclosure action if the lien claimant removes the lien within 15 days from the datethe owner obtains a certificate of compliance and mails a copy of the certificate of compliance bycertified mail to the lien claimant at the address provided for by Subsection 38-1-7(2)(a)(v). The15-day period begins accruing from the date postmarked on the certificate of compliance sent tothe lien claimant.
Amended by Chapter 31, 2010 General Session
