Kentucky · LiensKentucky mechanic's liens: the six-month filing window, the owner's copy and the twelve-month suit

Anyone who furnishes labor or materials to build, alter or repair a structure or otherwise improve Kentucky real property, under a contract with or the written consent of the owner, a contractor or another authorized person, has a lien on the improvements and the land. It is superior to mortgages created after the work began and, once asserted, relates back to the start of the work, but in total it can't exceed the original contractor's price. It doesn't take precedence over a recorded mortgage or a bona fide purchaser for value without notice unless the claimant filed a statement with the county clerk before that mortgage or deed was recorded (KRS 376.010). The lien is dissolved unless, within six months after the claimant stops working or furnishing materials, the claimant files with the county clerk a sworn statement of the amount due, a description of the property, the owner's name if known and whether the work was under contract with the owner or a contractor – and mails a copy to the owner's last known address within seven days of filing (KRS 376.080). It is also dissolved unless an action to enforce it is brought within twelve months after the statement is filed, with six more months if the debtor dies in that time (KRS 376.090).