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Mechanics Lien Toolkit (IL)
Practical Law Toolkit w-016-4855 (Approx. 7 pages)
A collection of resources to assist claimants in understanding and effectively creating, perfecting, and enforcing statutory mechanics liens to secure payment for improvements to privately owned real estate in Illinois. This Toolkit contains many guidance documents and standard forms for use at all stages of the mechanic's lien process.
Contractors, subcontractors, laborers, and suppliers of material, equipment, and services (claimants) have several options available to secure payment for improvements to privately owned commercial real estate. In Illinois, the most common option is a statutory mechanics lien.
The Illinois Mechanics Lien Act (ML Act) is a comprehensive statute that sets out mechanics lien rights in Illinois (770 ILCS 60/0.01 to 60/39). The creation, perfection, and enforcement of mechanics liens in Illinois is a multi-step process that requires strict compliance with all the statutory requirements of the ML Act.
The resources included in this Toolkit are meant to help counsel for claimants and property owners:
- Understand the processes and procedures for creating, perfecting, enforcing, and discharging mechanics liens.
- Understand the deadlines for each step of the mechanics lien process.
- Draft, record, and serve effective lien documents.
- Understand available defenses to mechanics liens.
These resources also identify the different requirements for filing mechanics liens against commercial real estate in Illinois. This Toolkit lists national resources; however, the national resources are for general guidance only. Only under the Illinois ML Act can the creation, attachment, priority, and enforcement of a mechanics lien on Illinois real estate be effected.