Florida Compliance — Construction Lien Law
Florida Construction Lien Law §713.015 — Plain English for Contractors and Homeowners
Florida law requires a specific disclosure on every residential construction contract over $2,500. Here is what it says, why it exists, and what happens if you skip it.
Florida Statute §713.015 requires every direct contract between an owner and a contractor for residential construction valued over $2,500 to include a written notice — verbatim — that warns the homeowner about Florida's construction lien law and recommends consulting an attorney. The statute does not invalidate contracts that omit the notice, but it does expose the contractor to administrative discipline and weakens the contractor's position in payment disputes.
The required notice — verbatim from Fla. Stat. §713.015(1)
NOTICE TO OWNER ACCORDING TO FLORIDA'S CONSTRUCTION LIEN LAW (SECTIONS 713.001-713.37, FLORIDA STATUTES), THOSE WHO WORK ON YOUR PROPERTY OR PROVIDE MATERIALS, AND ARE NOT PAID IN FULL, HAVE A RIGHT TO ENFORCE THEIR CLAIM FOR PAYMENT AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY. THIS CLAIM IS KNOWN AS A CONSTRUCTION LIEN. IF YOUR CONTRACTOR OR A SUBCONTRACTOR FAILS TO PAY SUBCONTRACTORS, SUB-SUBCONTRACTORS, OR MATERIAL SUPPLIERS, OR NEGLECTS TO MAKE OTHER LEGALLY REQUIRED PAYMENTS, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE OWED MONEY MAY LOOK TO YOUR PROPERTY FOR PAYMENT, EVEN IF YOU HAVE PAID YOUR CONTRACTOR IN FULL. IF YOU FAIL TO PAY YOUR CONTRACTOR, YOUR CONTRACTOR MAY ALSO HAVE A LIEN ON YOUR PROPERTY. THIS MEANS IF A LIEN IS FILED YOUR PROPERTY COULD BE SOLD AGAINST YOUR WILL TO PAY FOR LABOR, MATERIALS, OR OTHER SERVICES THAT YOUR CONTRACTOR OR A SUBCONTRACTOR MAY HAVE FAILED TO PAY. TO PROTECT YOURSELF, YOU SHOULD STIPULATE IN THIS CONTRACT THAT BEFORE ANY PAYMENT IS MADE, YOUR CONTRACTOR IS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A WRITTEN RELEASE OF LIEN FROM ANY PERSON OR COMPANY THAT HAS PROVIDED TO YOU A "NOTICE TO OWNER." FLORIDA'S CONSTRUCTION LIEN LAW IS COMPLEX, AND IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU CONSULT AN ATTORNEY.
Fla. Stat. §713.015(1) — "Mandatory provisions for direct contracts." flsenate.gov
When is the §713.015 disclosure required?
The statute applies when ALL THREE conditions are met:
1. The contract is between an owner and a contractor (a direct contract — not a subcontract).
2. The work is for the construction or improvement of a residential property containing four or fewer dwelling units.
3. The total contract value exceeds $2,500.
If any of those is false, §713.015 does not apply — but other parts of Florida's construction lien law (Chapter 713) still do. Commercial construction, multi-family projects over four units, and sub-to-sub contracts each have their own rules under §713 — and any of them can still produce a lien even though they don't trigger §713.015's disclosure requirement.
What happens if a contractor leaves the disclosure out?
Three meaningful consequences, in order of severity:
1. The Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board can take disciplinary action against the contractor's license — fines, probation, or in egregious cases, suspension.
2. In a payment dispute, the homeowner can argue that the contractor's failure to follow the statute weighs against the contractor in equitable claims.
3. The omission does NOT void the underlying contract or eliminate the contractor's right to file a lien. But it removes a defensive position the contractor would otherwise have if accused of unfair business practices under FDUTPA (Fla. Stat. §501.201 et seq.).
The disclosure also exists to protect the homeowner — it puts them on notice that paying the contractor in full is not always enough to clear their property of liens. That protection function is why the Construction Industry Licensing Board takes the requirement seriously.
How does a contractor comply correctly?
Reproduce the statutory text verbatim. The statute supplies the exact words — paraphrases, summaries, and "plain English" rewrites are not compliant.
Place it in the contract document. The disclosure has to be in the contract that the owner signs, not in a separate handout or attachment.
Make it conspicuous. Best practice: capital letters (the statute itself is in caps), bold or boxed, with a customer initial line next to it. Florida courts have found buried or fine-print disclosures defective.
If the contract is in another language, the disclosure must still appear in English exactly as the statute requires. A Spanish-speaking homeowner is entitled to a Spanish version of the surrounding contract — but the English statutory text must be present in the document either way.
What about Spanish-speaking homeowners? Does bilingual signing change the §713.015 obligation?
Bilingual signing does not replace the §713.015 disclosure — the statutory text must still appear in English in the contract. Bilingual signing adds the Spanish translation alongside, so the Spanish-speaking owner can read and understand what they're agreeing to before they sign.
Florida does not have an equivalent of California Civil Code §1632 (which requires Spanish translations of contracts negotiated in Spanish). But the absence of a state law does not eliminate the practical and reputational risk of asking a Spanish-speaking homeowner to sign an English-only contract with no translation.
XOsign's bilingual signing flow preserves the English statutory disclosure exactly as §713.015 requires AND renders a side-by-side Spanish version of the entire contract — including the disclosure — so the Spanish-speaking owner has informed consent and the contractor has a court-ready audit trail recording what each party saw, in what language, when.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about §713.015
Is the §713.015 disclosure required on commercial contracts?
No. §713.015 applies only to direct contracts for residential property containing four or fewer dwelling units, with a contract value over $2,500. Commercial construction and larger multi-family projects do not trigger §713.015's disclosure requirement, but they are still governed by Chapter 713 generally — subs and suppliers can still file liens, and contractors still need to manage Notice to Owner and lien-waiver compliance.
Does §713.015 apply if my contract is for less than $2,500?
No. The threshold is contract value over $2,500. If the total direct-contract value is $2,500 or less, the §713.015 disclosure is not required. But other Chapter 713 protections (and the homeowner's risk of subcontractor liens) still apply regardless of contract size.
What if I want to translate the §713.015 notice into Spanish for a Spanish-speaking homeowner?
You cannot replace the English statutory text. Florida law requires the disclosure to appear verbatim, in English, in the contract. You can add a Spanish translation alongside the English version — that's exactly what XOsign's bilingual signing flow does — but the English text must be present and unaltered to satisfy the statute.
Does the homeowner have to sign or initial the §713.015 disclosure separately?
The statute does not strictly require a separate signature or initial line, but it requires the disclosure to be in the contract the owner signs. Best practice — and the standard XOsign templates use — is a dedicated initial line directly under the disclosure. That makes it audit-trail clear that the owner saw the notice and acknowledges it.
I'm a subcontractor, not the GC. Does §713.015 apply to me?
Not directly. §713.015 governs direct contracts between the owner and the GC. Subcontractor agreements (sub-to-GC, sub-to-sub) are not within §713.015's scope. But subcontractors are still creatures of Chapter 713 — your lien rights run under §713.06 (Notice to Owner) and §713.20 (lien waivers), and a botched filing under either can cost you the lien entirely.
If I forget the disclosure on one contract, can I add it later?
You can amend the contract by signed addendum, but the protective and disciplinary effect runs from the original signing. Courts and the Construction Industry Licensing Board look at whether the owner had the disclosure before paying the contractor — a late addendum doesn't undo the period during which the owner was kept in the dark. The right answer is to make the disclosure non-optional in your contracting workflow.
Is Florida the only state with a construction-lien disclosure requirement?
No, but Florida's §713.015 is one of the most specific. Texas, California, and several other states have analogous (though differently worded) requirements. Florida's is notable for the verbatim-text requirement and the residential / over-$2,500 / four-or-fewer-units triggers — different from other states' tests.
XOsign is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. This page is informational and reflects publicly available statutory language and common industry practices. For specific advice on whether and how §713.015 applies to your contract, consult a Florida construction attorney.
XOsign builds the §713.015 disclosure into every Florida residential template.
Every Florida residential contract generated in XOsign includes the verbatim §713.015 disclosure with a customer initial line, formatted to be conspicuous, and ready for bilingual review. You don't have to remember it — we won't let you ship a Florida residential contract without it.