Michigan's Construction Lien Act and Roof Repairs: What to Collect When You Pay

Section 107 of the act says each contractor, subcontractor, supplier or laborer who provides an improvement to real property has a construction lien on the interest of the owner who contracted for it. Section 104 defines an improvement broadly: it includes building, altering and repairing, leasing equipment, and installing or affixing a fixture or material, as long as it was done under a contract. A roof repair, a chimney re-flash and a full tear-off all fit.

The act also puts a ceiling on the total. Under section 107(6), the sum of all liens on your property can't exceed what you agreed to pay your contractor, as modified by change orders, less payments you made under a contractor's sworn statement or a lien waiver. That ceiling is why the paperwork matters. Payments made the right way reduce what anyone can claim; payments made with nothing in hand may not.

Notice who is not on the list of protections: the person who simply paid in cash with no receipt. The law rewards documentation, and nearly every protection described below depends on being able to show what you paid, when and to whom.

On a typical home roof job, the lien paperwork arrives in a predictable order. You may never see some of it on a small repair, and that is normal. What matters is recognizing each piece when it does show up.

The Attorney General's home repair guidance suggests deposits of no more than one third of the project cost, payments scheduled as work progresses, no cash, and a final payment only when the job is finished to your satisfaction and you have proof that all subcontractors and suppliers have been paid. Under the lien act, that proof takes the form of the documents above. Here is how it usually scales.

Section 111 gives a lien claimant 90 days after its last furnishing of labor or material to record a claim of lien with the register of deeds in your county. Within 15 days after recording, it must serve you, personally or by certified mail, with a copy. If it doesn't record within 90 days, its lien right ends. If it does, section 117 gives it one year from recording to file a foreclosure action in circuit court.

On an owner-occupied home, your strongest answer is the payment affidavit. Section 118a says a claim of lien does not attach to a residential structure to the extent payments have been made, if you file an affidavit with the court stating you paid the contractor according to the contract, with copies of the contract, change orders and evidence of payment. If there was no written contract, the affidavit creates a rebuttable presumption that you paid, which can be overcome only by clear and convincing evidence.

Two other sections help. An unlicensed contractor who needed a license can't impose a lien on your property unless it was licensed during the work (MCL 339.2412). And section 118 lets the court award reasonable attorney fees to a prevailing defendant if it finds the lien foreclosure action was vexatious. Michigan used to back homeowners with a Homeowner Construction Lien Recovery Fund; it was repealed by 2010 PA 147, along with the old section 203 defense, so older articles that mention it are out of date.

For most homeowners, the act never comes up. A licensed roofer with steady supplier accounts pays its bills, the paperwork sits in a drawer, and the 90-day window closes quietly. The documents are insurance against the rare job where something goes wrong: a contractor that closes mid-season, a supplier dispute you had no part in, or a crew paid late.

Stellar Roofing Company is a Michigan Licensed Residential Builder, license #262000779, and you can check that number on LARA before you hire us. Whoever you hire, ask before the job starts how they handle sworn statements and waivers on a project your size. A clear, unbothered answer is a good sign. This page describes the statute, not your situation; it is not legal advice, so confirm anything that affects a dispute with an attorney.