Every building erected, improved, added to, or repaired at the direction of the owner, or the owner’s authorized agent, and the land on which the same is erected, intended to be used in connection therewith, or necessary to the use and enjoyment thereof, to the extent of the right, title, and interest, at that time existing, of the owner, shall be subject to a lien in favor of the contractor who contracted with the owner, in the amount of the contract price or, in the absence of an express contract, the reasonable value of the project; provided, that to enforce the lien, the contractor claiming the lien shall record in the land records a notice of intent and comply with the other procedures prescribed in this chapter.
(Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1384, ch. 854, § 1237; Oct. 20, 2005, D.C. Law 16-31, § 2(b), 52 DCR 7195.)
1981 Ed., § 38-101.
1973 Ed., § 38-101.
This section is referenced in § 40-303.01, § 42-1902.02, § 42-2025, and § 42-2303.
D.C. Law 16-31 rewrote section, which had read as follows: “Every building erected, improved, added to, or repaired by the owner or his agent, and the lot of ground on which the same is erected, being all the ground used or intended to be used in connection therewith, or necessary to the use and enjoyment thereof, to the extent of the right, title, and interest, at that time existing, of such owner, whether owner in fee or of a less estate, or lessee for a term of years, or vendee in possession under a contract of sale, shall be subject to a lien in favor of the contractor with such owner or his duly authorized agent for the contract price agreed upon between them, or, in the absence of an express contract, for the reasonable value of the work and materials furnished for and about the erection, construction, improvement, or repair of or addition to such building, or the placing of any engine, machinery, or other thing therein or in connection therewith so as to become a fixture, though capable of being detached; provided, that the person claiming the lien shall file the notice herein prescribed.”
Condominiums, see § 40-1902.02.
Horizontal property regimes, see § 42-2025.
Payment as defense to assertion of lien, see § 47-2883.03.