A.R.S. 33-981: Who Can Put a Mechanics Lien on Your Arizona Home

A mechanics lien is a legal claim recorded against your property by someone who worked on it or supplied materials and did not get paid. A.R.S. 33-981 is the section that creates that right. It reaches far beyond the contractor you signed with: the framer, the plumber, the lumberyard, and the engineer who stamped your plans can each lien your home for their unpaid share, even if you paid your general contractor in full. This page explains who gets a lien, who is shut out, and why one missing license can erase the whole claim.

Who the lien right covers

The lien right is broad on purpose. Anyone who adds labor, professional services, or materials to a building or improvement can claim a lien on it. The statute lists them out:

Every person who labors or furnishes professional services, materials, machinery, fixtures or tools in the construction, alteration or repair of any building, or other structure or improvement, shall have a lien on such building, structure or improvement for the work or labor done or professional services, materials, machinery, fixtures or tools furnished.

That covers general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, equipment renters, and design professionals like architects and engineers. The key thing for a homeowner: the right belongs to people you may have never met. If your general contractor pockets your money and stiffs the drywall sub, that sub can still come after your house under this section. The lien attaches to the property, not to the person who owes the money.

The two big exceptions that protect you

A.R.S. 33-981 builds in limits. Two matter most to homeowners.

First, an unlicensed contractor has no lien. If the person doing the work needed a license from the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) and did not have one, they cannot lien your home at all. This pairs with the rule in A.R.S. 32-1153 that an unlicensed contractor cannot even sue you for payment.

Second, most lien claimants must first serve a preliminary twenty day notice under A.R.S. 33-992.01 . Miss that notice and the lien right shrinks or disappears. That early notice is also your warning system: it tells you who is working on the job and could lien you later.

For example, say you build in Cave Creek and pay your contractor $400,000 in full. A tile supplier the contractor never paid sends you a twenty day notice early in the job, then records a $9,000 lien. Because the supplier was licensed (or did not need a license) and gave proper notice, the lien is valid against your home, and you may have to pay twice or fight it. The defense most homeowners reach for is the owner-occupied dwelling exemption in A.R.S. 33-1002 .

How this fits the rest of the lien law

This section is the starting gate. It says a lien right exists; the other sections control how and when it can be used. The twenty day notice rule is in A.R.S. 33-992.01 . The deadline and method for recording the lien itself are in A.R.S. 33-993 . A homeowner's strongest shield, the exemption for a home you live in, is A.R.S. 33-1002 . Before any of this matters, confirm your builder is licensed using our guide to verifying a contractor with the ROC , and lock down payment terms with our checklist on what to include in a custom home contract .

Full text and source

Read the current section, with any amendments, on the legislature's site: View A.R.S. 33-981 on azleg.gov .

Whether a particular claimant actually holds a valid lien on your home turns on the license, the notice, and the dates, so verify the license at roc.az.gov and have an Arizona construction attorney check any lien before you pay it.