The definition, straight from the statute
Florida does not define the Notice to Owner in a glossary. It defines it by what it must do. Section 713.06(2)(a) reads:
All lienors under this section, except laborers, as a prerequisite to perfecting a lien under this chapter and recording a claim of lien, must serve a notice on the owner setting forth the lienor's name and address, a description sufficient for identification of the real property, and the nature of the services or materials furnished or to be furnished.
So an NTO is a written notice, served on the owner, that carries three facts: who you are and where you are, which property you are talking about, and what you are furnishing to it. Serving it is a prerequisite to perfecting a lien. It comes first; the lien, if it ever comes, comes later.
Who the statute is talking about
Section 713.06 is titled "Liens of persons not in privity." Its first subsection describes the people it covers:
A materialman or laborer, either of whom is not in privity with the owner, or a subcontractor or sub-subcontractor who complies with the provisions of this part and is subject to the limitations thereof, has a lien on the real property improved for any money that is owed to him or her for labor, services, or materials furnished in accordance with his or her contract and with the direct contract and for any unpaid finance charges due under the lienor's contract.
In plain terms: subcontractors, sub-subcontractors and material suppliers who have no contract with the owner. The Notice to Owner is how those parties, whom the owner may never have met, put the owner on notice that they are on the job. Laborers are covered by the section but are excepted from the notice requirement ("except laborers"). A contractor who deals directly with the owner is in privity and is not a §713.06 lienor at all. Whether a particular company is in privity on a particular job is a legal question; the statute, not this page, decides it.
What a Notice to Owner is not
Two sentences in the same paragraph draw the boundaries:
The notice is not a lien, cloud, or encumbrance on the real property nor actual or constructive notice of any of them.
The serving of the notice does not dispense with recording the claim of lien.
- It is not a lien. Nothing attaches to the property when an NTO is served. It does not show up in a title search as an encumbrance.
- It is not the claim of lien. The claim of lien is a separate document, recorded later, and only if the lienor goes unpaid. Serving the NTO does not replace it.
- It is not a demand for payment, and it is not an accusation. It says a supplier or subcontractor is furnishing to the property, nothing more.
Why the law makes owners receive it
The statutory form itself explains the purpose. Section 713.06(2)(c) requires every notice to carry this warning, in these words:
WARNING! FLORIDA'S CONSTRUCTION LIEN LAW ALLOWS SOME UNPAID CONTRACTORS, SUBCONTRACTORS, AND MATERIAL SUPPLIERS TO FILE LIENS AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY EVEN IF YOU HAVE MADE PAYMENT IN FULL.
UNDER FLORIDA LAW, YOUR FAILURE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PAID MAY RESULT IN A LIEN AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY AND YOUR PAYING TWICE.
TO AVOID A LIEN AND PAYING TWICE, YOU MUST OBTAIN A WRITTEN RELEASE FROM US EVERY TIME YOU PAY YOUR CONTRACTOR.
That is the whole bargain in three lines. An owner who pays the contractor in full can still face a lien from a subcontractor the contractor did not pay. The Notice to Owner tells the owner which subcontractors and suppliers exist, so the owner can collect releases from them as the contractor is paid. In exchange for giving the owner that protection, the lienor keeps the right to lien.
What happens if it is never served
The notice must be served regardless of the method of payments by the owner, whether proper or improper, and does not give to the lienor serving the notice any priority over other lienors in the same category; and the failure to serve the notice, or to timely serve it, is a complete defense to enforcement of a lien by any person.
"Complete defense" is the operative phrase. A §713.06 lienor who never serves the notice, or serves it late, has handed the owner a full answer to any later lien. The notice does not make a lienor first in line either; it only keeps the door open. The timing rule that goes with this sentence, 45 days from first furnishing with a mail-by date at day 40, is on the deadline guide and the late-notice page.
The names people use
Florida contractors say "NTO" and "notice to owner" interchangeably. The statute uses both spellings itself: "notice to owner" in §713.06 and §713.18, and the heading "NOTICE TO OWNER" on the form. On a bonded job the same form can double as the notice to contractor:
The form may be combined with a notice to contractor given under s. 255.05 or s. 713.23 and, if so, may be entitled "NOTICE TO OWNER/NOTICE TO CONTRACTOR."
Other states use other names for the same idea: a preliminary notice in California and Arizona, a notice of furnishing in Ohio and Michigan. Each has its own deadline and recipient list, so a Florida NTO is not a template for them. The notices-by-state hub lists each one with its statute.
Frequently asked
Is a Notice to Owner a lien?
No. Section 713.06(2)(a) says the notice is not a lien, cloud, or encumbrance on the real property nor actual or constructive notice of any of them. It preserves the right to lien later; the claim of lien is a separate recorded document.
Does the owner have to respond to a Notice to Owner?
The notice asks for no reply. The statutory form tells the owner how to protect themselves: obtain a written release from the lienor every time the owner pays the contractor.
Is an NTO the same thing as a preliminary notice?
In Florida the document is the Notice to Owner under §713.06. Other states call their equivalent a preliminary notice (California, Arizona) or a notice of furnishing (Ohio, Michigan). The deadlines and recipients differ by state.