A Tennessee residential contractor completes a $45,000 kitchen renovation project. The homeowner pays $40,000 but disputes the final $5,000. Under Tennessee lien law, what is the deadline to file a mechanic's lien after completion of work?
Correct Answer
C) 90 days
Tennessee lien law requires mechanic's liens to be filed within 90 days of completion of work or last furnishing of materials.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option C is correct. Tennessee Code Annotated requires that mechanic's liens be filed within 90 days of the last day of furnishing labor or materials on the project. Missing this deadline extinguishes the lien right entirely, leaving the contractor to pursue only breach-of-contract remedies.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: 120 days
120 days is the deadline used in some other states (such as California for certain claimants) but is not the Tennessee standard for mechanic's liens. Applying another state's timeline is a common cross-state confusion.
Option B: 60 days
60 days is shorter than Tennessee's actual 90-day window and would prematurely cut off the contractor's lien rights. This is a plausible distractor because 60-day deadlines appear in other lien-related contexts.
Option D: 30 days
30 days is far too short and would be impractical for most projects where final payment disputes take time to develop. This deadline does not apply to Tennessee mechanic's lien filings.
Memory Technique
Tennessee = 90 days. Visualize a '90-day warranty clock' starting the moment the last worker leaves the job site. When that clock hits zero, the lien right vanishes. 90 days = roughly 3 months — remember 'Q3 of lien time.'
More Tennessee Questions
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Under Tennessee lien law, what is the maximum time limit to enforce a mechanics lien after it has been filed?
Under Tennessee lien law, which party has priority when multiple liens are filed against the same property?
Under Tennessee building codes, what is the maximum allowable deflection for a residential floor joist with a 16-foot span under live load?
A homeowner in Nashville hires an unlicensed contractor for $8,000 worth of electrical work. The contractor demands payment but the work fails inspection. Under TCA 62-6, what recourse does the unlicensed contractor have?
Under Tennessee building codes, what is the minimum ceiling height required for habitable rooms in residential construction?
A Tennessee contractor has 8 employees working on a residential project. The total weekly payroll is $6,400. If the workers' compensation rate for residential construction is $8.50 per $100 of payroll, what is the weekly workers' compensation premium?
A contractor is installing a septic system for a new home in rural Tennessee. The estimated cost is $8,500. According to TCA 62-6, what licensing requirement applies?
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