{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-376.010","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 376.010","heading":"Mechanics' and materialman's liens -- Filing of statement of amount","body":"claimed -- Extent of lien -- Notice to owner, agent, or lessee.\n(1) (a) Any person who performs labor or furnishes materials for the erection,\naltering, or repairing of a hou se or other structure or for any fixture or\nmachinery therein, for the excavation of cellars, cisterns, vaults, wells, or for\nthe improvement in any manner of real property including the furnishing of\nagricultural lime, fertilizer, concrete pipe or drainage tile, crushed rock, gravel\nfor roads or driveways, and materials used in the construction or maintenance\nof fences, by contract with, or by the written consent of, the owner, lessee,\ncontractor, subcontractor, architect, or authorized agent, shall have a  lien\nthereon, and upon the land upon which the improvements were made, or on\nany interest the owner or lessee has therein, to secure the amount thereof with\ninterest as provided in KRS 360.040, and costs.\n(b) When improvements to property are made pursuan t to an agreement or\ncontract with a lessee, the lessee shall not be deemed the authorized agent of\nthe owner unless the owner has designated the lessee, in writing, as the\nowner's agent for purposes of entering into the agreement or contract.\n(c) The lien  on the land or improvements shall be superior to any mortgage or\nencumbrance created subsequent to the beginning of the labor or the\nfurnishing of the materials, and the lien, if asserted as hereinafter provided,\nshall relate back and take effect from the  time of the commencement of the\nlabor or the furnishing of the materials.\n(d) The lien shall not be for a greater amount in the aggregate than the contract\nprice of the original contractor, and should the aggregate amount of the liens\nexceed the price agr eed upon between the original contractor and the owner\nthere shall be a pro rata distribution of the original contract price among the\nlienholders.\n(2) (a) The lien shall not take precedence over a mortgage or other contract lien or\nbona fide conveyance fo r value without notice, duly recorded or lodged for\nrecord according to law, unless the person claiming the prior lien shall, before\nthe recording of the mortgage or other contract lien or conveyance, file in the\noffice of the county clerk of the county wh ere he or she has furnished or\nexpects to furnish labor or materials, a statement showing that he or she has\nfurnished or expects to furnish labor or materials, and the amount of the labor\nor materials in full.\n(b) The lien shall not, as against the holder  of a mortgage or other contract lien or\nconveyance, exceed the amount of the lien claimed or expected to be claimed\nas set forth in the statement.\n(c) The statement shall, in other respects, be in the form prescribed by KRS\n376.080.\n(3) (a) Any lien under this section shall only extend to the right, title, and interest of\nthe person who contracts for the improvements as the right, title, and interest\nexist at the commencement of the improvements or as thereafter acquired in\nthe real property. When improvem ents to property are made by a lessee in\naccordance with an agreement between the lessee and his or her lessor, the\nlien shall also extend to the interest of the lessor.\n(b) When a lease agreement expressly provides that the interest of the lessor shall\nnot be subject to liens for improvements made by the lessee, the lessee shall\nnotify the contractor making any improvements of the provisions in the lease,\nand the knowing or willing failure of the lessee to provide this notice to the\ncontractor shall render  the contract between the lessee and the contractor\nvoidable at the option of the contractor.\n(4) (a) A person who has not contracted directly with the owner, the owner's agent,\nor the lessee, if applicable, shall not acquire a lien under this section unless he\nor she notifies, in writing, the owner of the property to be held liable,the\nowner's authorized agent, or the lessee, if applicable, within seventy -five (75)\ndays on claims amounting to less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and one\nhundred twenty (120) days on claims in excess of one thousand dollars\n($1,000) after the last item of material or labo r is furnished, of his or her\nintention to hold the property liable and the amount for which he or she will\nclaim a lien; and\n(b) It shall be sufficient to prove that the notice was mailed to the last known\naddress of the owner of the property upon which t he lien is claimed, or to the\nowner's duly authorized agent within the county in which the property to be\nheld liable is located.\n(5) (a) A person who has not contracted directly with the owner or the owner's\nauthorized agent shall not acquire a lien under  this section on an owner -\noccupied single or double family dwelling, the appurtenances or additions\nthereto, or upon other improvements for agricultural or personal use to the\nreal property or real property contiguous thereto and held by the same owner,\nupon which the owner-occupant's dwelling is located, unless he or she notifies\nin writing the owner of the property to be held liable or the owner's authorized\nagent not more than seventy -five (75) days after the last item of material or\nlabor is furnished, of the delivery of the material or performance of labor and\nof his or her intention to hold the property liable and the amount for which he\nor she will claim a lien.\n(b) It shall be sufficient to prove that the notice was mailed to the last known\naddress of the owner of the property upon which the lien is claimed, or to the\nowner's duly authorized agent.\n(c) The notice under this subsection is in lieu of the notice provided for in\nsubsection (4) of this section.\n(d) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subsection, the lien provided\nfor under this section shall not be applicable to the extent that an owner -\noccupant of a single or double family dwelling, or owner of other property as\ndescribed in this subsection has, prior to receipt of the notice provided for in\nthis subsection, paid the contractor, subcontractor, architect, or authorized\nagent for work performed or materials furnished prior to such payment.\n(e) The contractor or subcontractor cannot be the authorized agent under this\nsubsection.\n(f) This subsection shall apply to the construction of single or double family\nhomes constructed pursuant to a construction contract with a property owner\nand intended for use as the property owner's dwelling.\n(6) For purposes of this section, \"labor\" inclu des but is not limited to all supplies and\nwork done by teams, trucks, machinery, and mechanical equipment, whether the\nowner furnishes a driver or operator or not.\n(7) As used in this section:\n(a) \"Supplies\" includes small tools and equipment reasonably n ecessary in\nperforming the work required to be done, including picks, shovels, sledge\nhammers, axes, pulleys, wire cables, ropes, and other similar items costing not\nmore than fifty dollars ($50) per item, and tires and tubes furnished for use on\nvehicles engaged in the performance of the work; and\n(b) \"Supplies\" also includes the cost of labor, materials, and repair parts supplied\nor furnished for keeping all machinery and equipment used in the\nperformance of the work in good operating condition; and shall  include the\nagreed or reasonable rental price of equipment and machinery used in\nperforming the work to be done:\n1. The lien for rental equipment or machinery shall not be more than the\naggregate sum of six (6) months' rental, and the aggregate amount of\nsuch rental shall not exceed sixty percent (60%) of the agreed value of\nthe machinery or equipment; and\n2. The liens for supplies as defined in this subsection are subordinate to the\nliens for labor, material, and supplies as defined in this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 376"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=54156","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:08Z","sha256":"ebf91e2d268958a8e17667f687a2dc7f652c510eb2b26da72e10599b3e5223e2","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-372.990","next":"us-ky/krs-376.020"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}