Mechanic’s Liens: A Colorado Homeowner’s Guide

• A mechanics' lien is a legal claim recorded against your property by a contractor or supplier who wasn’t paid. 

• In Colorado, contractors must record a lien within four months of last work (C.R.S. § 38-22-109) and enforce it within six months of recording (C.R.S. § 38-22-110).

• Homeowners have three pathways to remove a lien: wait for it to expire, post a surety bond at 1.5× the lien amount, or file a declaratory relief action.

A mechanics' lien (sometimes called a “contractor’s lien”) is a legal claim filed by someone who provided labor or materials to improve real property and was not paid. Despite the name, mechanics’ liens have nothing to do with auto repair — in Colorado, they are most often used by general contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers in the home-improvement and construction industries.

Anyone who supplies labor or materials for a project can file one: the general contractor you hired, a subcontractor you never met, or even a supplier who delivered lumber to the jobsite. If properly filed, the lien gives them the right to foreclose on your home to satisfy the debt — even if you already paid your general contractor in full and that contractor failed to pay their subs.

The legal theory is unjust enrichment: the property owner shouldn’t benefit from improvements without paying for them. That doctrine is what gives a subcontractor with a few thousand dollars owed the power to tie up a home worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Colorado’s mechanics' lien statutes are codified at C.R.S. § 38-22-101. Because liens are such a powerful collection tool, the legislature imposed strict procedural requirements on them. A contractor must perfect the lien — that is, make it legally official — by following each step in order. Missing any one of them can invalidate the claim entirely.

Three deadlines drive Colorado mechanics' lien practice — and contractors miss them often enough that homeowners regularly win on procedural grounds alone.

Action	Deadline in Colorado	Statute
Notice of Intent to File a Lien	Must be served on the homeowner at least 10 days before recording the lien.	C.R.S. § 38-22-109
Recording the lien	Must be recorded within 4 months after the last day work was performed or materials were furnished.	C.R.S. § 38-22-109(5)
Filing to enforce the lien	Foreclosure action must be filed within 6 months of recording, or the lien expires.	C.R.S. § 38-22-110

Colorado courts strictly enforce these windows. A subcontractor that misses the six-month deadline to file an enforcement action loses the lien entirely — even if the underlying debt is genuine.

- Schlosky v. Mobile Premix Concrete, Inc., 656 P.2d 1321, 1322 (Colo. App. 1982).

It depends on the stage of the project. If the project is ongoing, a contractor is not legally required to send a preliminary lien notice. They can file a Notice of Intent at any point during construction.

If the project is complete, the contractor must provide a Notice of Intent to File a Lien — along with an affidavit of service — at least 10 days before officially recording the lien. C.R.S. § 38-22-109. If they skip this step or miscount the days, the lien is vulnerable to a procedural challenge.

Most Colorado homeowners discover a lien the hard way — when they try to sell or refinance, and the title company flags it. You don’t have to wait that long. Here are two faster options:

• Owner’s and Encumbrances (O&E) report. Order an O&E report from a title company. It will list every lien recorded against your property and include copies of the lien instruments themselves, so you can see exactly who filed, when, and for how much.

• Check with your county clerk and recorder. Recorded liens are public records in Colorado and can usually be searched online. For example, the Denver Clerk and Recorder, the Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder, the Douglas County Clerk and Recorder, the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder, and the Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder all maintain searchable online portals.

Once you know what you’re dealing with, get the lien document into the hands of a real estate litigation attorney. The validity of the lien often turns on technical details — dates, names, the exact wording of the lien statement — that a homeowner is unlikely to spot on their own.

If a mechanics' lien lands on your property, you have options. Defenses generally fall into three buckets: the lien is procedurally defective, you don’t actually owe the money claimed, or the homeowner-protection statute applies.

Contractors and suppliers often miss the statute’s strict requirements. Your attorney will examine the lien statement to confirm it contains each required element. Specifically, the lien statement must clearly identify:

• The name of the property owner;

• The name of the creditor (the person or company seeking payment);

• The name of the person or entity who furnished the labor or materials;

• The name of the primary contractor, when the lien is claimed by a subcontractor;

• The address or a description of the property where the work was performed;

• The amount owed; and

• A signature from the claimant.

If any element is missing, or if the 10-day notice, 4-month recording deadline, or 6-month enforcement window was missed, the lien may be invalid.

A second category of defense challenges the underlying debt. Common scenarios include:

• Overliening - The lien amount exceeds what you actually agreed to pay or what the contractor is legally entitled to recover. Contractors who knowingly inflate a lien risk losing the lien entirely and owing your attorney fees — see the 'excessive lien' penalty below.

• Poor craftsmanship - The contractor’s work falls below the quality standard set in your contract. You can argue you don’t owe full payment for substandard work.

• Improperly completed work - The contractor finished, but the final product was not delivered as agreed. You may owe less — or nothing — until the work conforms to the contract.

Colorado’s excessive-lien statute is particularly strong. If a claimant files a lien for more than is due, without a reasonable possibility of collecting that amount and with knowledge that the amount is overstated, the lien can be declared invalid, and the homeowner can recover attorney fees and costs.

“Any person who files a lien under this article for an amount greater than is due without a reasonable possibility that said amount claimed is due and with the knowledge that said amount claimed is greater than that amount then due … shall forfeit all rights to such lien plus such person shall be liable to the person against whom the lien was filed in an amount equal to the costs and all attorney’s fees.” C.R.S. § 38-22-128.

R&H Case Result

A Colorado homeowner came to us after a contractor threatened a lien for over $12,000 and referenced more than $62,000 in inflated claims on a roof-repair job — when she had already paid more than $12,000 of the $13,700 contract. Our real estate litigators negotiated the lien's dismissal, sparing her home and saving her thousands. See this Colorado mechanics' lien case result.

Colorado law contains a specific shield for homeowners who paid their general contractor in good faith. If you can prove you paid the general contractor, and the general contractor then failed to pay their subcontractors or suppliers, those subs and suppliers cannot enforce a mechanics' lien against your property. C.R.S. § 38-22-102.

There is also an affirmative defense available to homeowners residing in a single-family home that can defeat enforcement even when the lien is procedurally valid.

In December 1989, Michael and Cynthia Brown hired Brent Gibson Homes, Inc. to build a home on their El Paso County property. The Browns paid a $27,500 down payment when construction began, and the remaining balance was paid in June 1990, when the builder transferred title to them.

The builder, however, had failed to pay the plumbing subcontractor before transferring title. The subcontractor filed a mechanics' lien against the Browns to try to collect.

An El Paso County trial court dismissed the foreclosure action. On appeal, the subcontractor argued that because the builder still held partial ownership during construction, payments to the builder shouldn’t count as payment “to the principal contractor or any subcontractor,” and the homeowner-protection statute therefore shouldn’t apply.

The Colorado Court of Appeals disagreed and protected the Browns:

“Accordingly, regardless of Gibson’s status as an owner, when the Browns paid Gibson various amounts over time, constituting the full purchase price for their home, the payment was made to Gibson as contractor, by necessity either principal contractor or subcontractor, and the statute’s provisions were automatically triggered to protect the Browns, as homeowners, from subsequent liens against their residence.” Koch Plumbing & Heating, Inc. v. Brown, 835 P.2d 610, 612–13 (Colo. App. 1992).

Koch v. Brown remains controlling Colorado law on this issue and is the clearest expression of the state’s policy: a homeowner who pays in full should not be forced to pay twice because a contractor failed to pay its subs.

Once you’ve identified a lien on your home, you generally have three pathways to clear it from the title — each suited to different circumstances.

If you’re not in a hurry to sell, refinance, or borrow against the property, you can let the statutory clock run. A mechanics' lien is enforceable for only six months from the latest of:

• The last date work was performed;

• The last date materials were furnished; or

• The date the project was completed.

If the contractor does not file an action to enforce the lien within that window, it expires by operation of law. You will still need to take the additional step of formally removing the expired lien from the title record, but the threat itself is gone.

If you need the lien off the title now — you’re mid-sale, mid-refinance, or trying to open a line of credit — you can post a surety bond with the district court in the county where the property is located (for example, Denver District Court, Arapahoe County District Court, Douglas County District Court, El Paso County District Court, or Jefferson County District Court). The bond must be 1.5 times the amount of the lien. C.R.S. § 38-22-131.

A surety bond is a three-party contract in which a neutral third party (typically an insurance company) guarantees the obligation. Once posted, the district court holds the bond and releases the lien from your property. You won’t have access to those funds until either the contractor wins a foreclosure action against the bond or you successfully prove the lien is unenforceable — but your title is clear in the meantime.

If the other options don’t fit, you can ask a Colorado district court to settle the matter directly under Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure 57 and 105.

Rule 57 lets you seek a declaratory judgment — a court order deciding whether the mechanics' lien is valid or should be released. After you file and serve the contractor, the contractor has the opportunity to argue why the lien should stand.

Rule 105 allows the court to determine the rights of all parties to real property, including the rights of a lien claimant. The rule is broad by design:

“An action may be brought for the purpose of obtaining a complete adjudication of the rights of all parties thereto, with respect to any real property and for damages, if any, for the withholding of possession. The court in its decree shall grant full and adequate relief so as to completely determine the controversy and enforce the rights of the parties.” C.R.C.P. 105(a).

Declaratory relief actions are not the fastest pathway — they involve full litigation — but they are powerful, particularly when paired with the excessive-lien statute (C.R.S. § 38-22-128). If the court finds the lien was inflated or unsupportable, it can both invalidate the lien and award you your attorney fees.

Not sure which option fits your situation? Robinson & Henry’s real estate attorneys can assess your lien, calculate every deadline, and recommend the fastest route to clear title. Call 303-688-0944 or schedule a case assessment online.

Mechanics’ liens are serious. If a contractor successfully enforces one, you could lose your home in foreclosure to satisfy the claim. The strict procedural requirements that make liens powerful also make them vulnerable to challenge — but identifying those vulnerabilities, calculating deadlines, and choosing the right removal pathway requires legal training.

Call a Colorado real estate litigation attorney as soon as you receive a Notice of Intent to File a Lien Statement, or as soon as you discover a lien has already been recorded. Early involvement preserves every defense and removal option. Waiting can foreclose options — literally.

Most lien disputes are resolved well before foreclosure becomes a real threat. The right strategy depends on whether the lien is procedurally defective, whether you actually owe the amount claimed, and how quickly you need a clear title.

Robinson & Henry’s real estate attorneys represent Colorado homeowners challenging mechanics' liens across the Denver metro area, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, Highlands Ranch, Centennial, and the Front Range. From validity disputes and surety bonds to full declaratory relief actions, we’ll assess your situation and recommend the fastest, most cost-effective route to clear title.

If a mechanics' lien has been filed against your property, or you’ve received a Notice of Intent, call 303-688-0944 or schedule a case assessment online.