You worked on a house, the GC has not paid, and you want to know whether you can claim a lien. In North Carolina, subcontractors can have lien rights, including liens upon funds and specific routes to a real-property claim. The answer depends on your tier and the notices already sent. G.S. 44A-18, G.S. 44A-20, and G.S. 44A-23 describe those distinct routes.
An unpaid invoice alone does not put a lien on the house. A construction attorney needs to check your agreement, property, furnishing dates, upstream parties, and prior releases. Bring the documents below to that review.
What a lien does in plain terms
A lien connects a payment claim to specified property or funds under the governing law. North Carolina’s G.S. 44A-8 grants a real-property lien to qualifying persons who contract with the owner and furnish covered work or materials. A sub usually contracts with someone below the owner. Have the attorney check the separate subcontractor provisions.
Write down who hired whom before discussing remedies. Put the owner at the top, then the contractor, then each sub between that contractor and you. Record who signed your agreement. Check the contract chain even if the business calls itself the GC on site.
Keep suppliers and lower-tier installers in the diagram too. The funds statute expressly distinguishes first, second, third, and more remote tiers. Do not assume a crew hired by another sub has the same subrogation rights as a sub hired directly by the builder who contracted with the owner. G.S. 44A-18
A lien upon funds covers money owed upstream
For a first-tier sub, G.S. 44A-18 grants a lien upon improvement-related funds owed to the contractor with whom it dealt. The statute describes downstream rights and subrogation for other tiers. More remote claimants have a funds right against their contracting party’s funds but lack the same statutory subrogation rights.
Perfection requires written notice under G.S. 44A-19. That statute sets out the required information and service methods. Do not assume an ordinary invoice or text saying “I will lien the job” meets those requirements.
Once the obligor receives the statutory funds notice, G.S. 44A-20 imposes a duty to retain covered funds up to the noticed claims. The section also addresses liability for wrongful further payments. If the obligor is the owner, specified liability can support a separate property claim under subsection (d). Ask the attorney whether that route applies to your claim.
A property claim can depend on the contractor’s rights
G.S. 44A-23 allows a first-tier sub to enforce the contractor’s real-property claim to the extent of the sub’s claim. That is subrogation: the sub uses a statutory route through the contractor’s rights. The section also provides routes and additional conditions for second- and third-tier subs.
The notice-of-contract and notice-of-subcontract provisions in that section can affect lower-tier claimants. Obtain copies of any posted or filed notice of contract and any notice of subcontract you delivered. Have counsel check the subsequent payment notices too. Someone knowing you worked on the house does not settle the notice requirements.
A contractor’s waiver can also affect the subrogated claim before your rights are perfected. The statute distinguishes that effect from the funds claim and the separate property route under G.S. 44A-20(d). G.S. 44A-23(c) Review releases early. Do not assume a GC’s waiver destroys every remedy.
The lien-agent notice is a separate document
For undertakings within G.S. 44A-11.1, the owner generally designates a lien agent at the statutory $40,000 threshold. The statute has exceptions for improvements to an existing owner-occupied single-family residence and qualifying incidental accessory work. Check the project and exceptions before assuming the job has a lien agent.
For covered work, receipt of your notice by the lien agent within fifteen days after first furnishing is one statutory path to protecting the property claim and its priority. Late notice has different potential consequences around conveyances and financing. Notice sent after fifteen days does not automatically destroy every lien right. G.S. 44A-11.2(l)–(m)
The same section states that agent notice does not replace a property-lien claim, funds notice, or notice of subcontract. Keep the delivery receipt, but do not label it “lien filed.” See the lien-agent guide for the information-gathering sequence.
Property-lien deadlines need their own calendar
For North Carolina property claims, G.S. 44A-12 permits filing after the secured obligation matures, no later than 120 days after last furnishing at the improvement site. G.S. 44A-13 separately requires an enforcement action within 180 days after last furnishing. The enforcement period is not an additional 180 days after filing.
Perfection also requires service on the record owner and, for a subrogated claim, the contractor through whom the claim is asserted. Filing alone is insufficient under G.S. 44A-11. Ask your attorney to identify both the filing deadline and service requirements.
Give the attorney all work records rather than choosing your own “last day.” Include original performance, approved changes, return visits, delivery records, and disputed work. Do not assume a later punch visit restarts a statutory clock. Have the attorney review the visit and claim.
Check what each waiver or release gives up
North Carolina bars anticipatory agreements to waive the specified property-lien filing or funds-notice rights as consideration for awarding an improvement contract. The same provision allows subordination or release of liens. G.S. 44A-12(f) That does not make every release presented during payment invalid.
Before signing, identify the property, amount, covered period, payment condition, and rights released. Flag any statement acknowledging payment you have not received. Have the attorney review broad final releases and exclusions for disputed changes. The lien-waiver guide compares conditional and unconditional terminology.
Gather the records for your attorney
Collect the signed agreement and every incorporated payment exhibit. Add the owner and contracting-party identities, job address, scope records, invoice history, and balance reconciliation. Put notices, proof of service, agent receipts, and releases in date order.
Use the unpaid-invoice file checklist to organize the records for counsel without delaying the deadline review.
Ask counsel whether a funds claim, a subrogated property claim, another statutory route, or a contract action fits. Ask who must receive each document and when it is due. A title search, project sale, or disputed tier can change what the attorney needs to check. Use verified records rather than threatening a remedy you have not checked.
For year-end reporting after the payment records are reconciled, follow the subcontractor 1099 workflow.
Where Cercha fits
Cercha portfolios and endorsements help you understand a prospective working relationship before committing to the next job. Messages give you a way to start a conversation with that member. Verify the contracting entity and preserve payment and lien documents through your own business process.