MECHANICS' LIENS, in statute law, a lien or claim upon real estate to secure pay ment for work or labor performed on, or ma terials furnished for, buildings or other im provements thereon; which labor or material has been furnished at the request or with the consent, express or implied, of the owner of such real estate or other property. In early English law lands were charged with liens by express agreement of the owner and were gen erally covered by mortgages. Courts of equity also recognized mortgage agreements. By statute other liens were created, including judg ment liens and liens for taxes and assessments. In the United States the increasing number of independent contractors who constructed build ings on contract, and of dealers in building ma terial, resulted in the enactment of numerous mechanic lien laws. Such laws have also been enacted in Canada, but not in Great Britain. The statutes hold that the value of real estate is increased by the addition of improvements and that the property should accordingly be held subject to such claims. Mechanics' liens are valid prior liens over all other claims, such as mortgages, judgments or taxes, and the term covers all claims for labor, whether skilled or unskilled, and for all building materials fur nished. But liens are held against the property
and not personally against the owner. The lien only attaches to the very property upon which the work was done, and has no effect on other pieces of real estate of the owner. In most States the law provides that the work to which the owner is entitled under a contract must he entirely performed before the contractor can file a lien, but where owners' payments are made in instalments, some codes permit the filing of a lien when the owner defaults in the payment of an instalment. Liens usually take precedence according to the time of their filing in the county clerk's office. In some States subcon tractors, who have not had direct dealings with the owner, may nevertheless file liens against the property for the work performed by them.
The statutes of mechanics' liens vary in the different States in the manner of details, time of filing, method of procedure, etc., and State statutes should be consulted. See LIEN;