Missouri · Chapter 429Missouri mechanic's liens and home sales: notices, deadlines and lien waivers

Missouri mechanic's liens can follow a house into a sale, so the timelines matter at closing. The basic clock: a contractor, laborer or supplier must file the lien with the circuit clerk of the county within six months after the debt accrued (RSMo 429.080), and the lien ends unless a suit to enforce it is started within six months after filing (429.170). An original contractor must give the owner a written 'Notice to Owner' in 10-point bold type – at signing, on delivery of materials, at the start of work or with the first invoice, and before being paid – warning that unpaid suppliers can file liens and suggesting lien waivers; without it the contractor has no lien, except on new residences where the buyer gets mechanics' lien protection from a Missouri-registered title insurer (429.012). For residential property built or improved so the current owner can sell it (429.016 – not repairs or remodels of an owner-occupied home of four units or less, which follow 429.013), there is a special procedure: the owner records a notice of intended sale at least 45 days before the earliest intended closing date, stating that date, and posts a copy on the property. Each claimant who wants to keep its lien rights must then record a notice of rights at least five calendar days before that closing date; one that doesn't forfeits its lien (though not its other collection rights), and a notice recorded after the home is conveyed to a good-faith buyer doesn't preserve the lien. A filed lien can be released by depositing cash, a letter of credit or a bond for at least 150% of the lien with the circuit clerk. A claimant who recorded a notice of rights and has been paid in full must sign an unconditional final lien waiver – on the statutory form – within five days of a written request; refusing makes it presumptively liable for slander of title plus a $500 penalty.