(a) No payment by the owner to any contractor or subcontractor of any part or all of the contract price for the erection and construction of any building, structure or improvement appurtenant to a building, structure or improvement or for any part or section of a work may affect, impair or limit the lien of the subcontractor, laborer, or materialman or furnisher of machinery or other necessary material or equipment, as provided in this article, except as otherwise provided in this article.
(b) Notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the contrary, beginning on July 1, 2015, it is an affirmative defense, or an affirmative partial defense, as the case may be, in any action to enforce a lien pursuant to this article that the owner is not indebted to the contractor or is indebted to the contractor for less than the amount of the lien sought to be perfected, when:
(1) The property is an existing single-family dwelling;
(2) The property is a residence constructed by the owner or under a contract entered into by the owner prior to its occupancy as the owner's primary residence; or
(3) The property is a single-family, owner-occupied dwelling, including a residence constructed and sold for occupancy as a primary residence. This subdivision does not apply to a developer or builder of multiple residences except for the residence that is occupied as the primary residence of the developer or builder.
Structure West Virginia Code
§38-2-2. Lien of Subcontractor
§38-2-3. Lien of Materialman Furnishing Supplies to Owner
§38-2-4. Lien of Materialman Furnishing Supplies to Contractor or Subcontractor
§38-2-5. Lien of Mechanic or Laborer Working for Owner
§38-2-6. Lien of Mechanic or Laborer Working for Contractor or Subcontractor
§38-2-6a. Lien of Architect, Surveyor, Engineer or Landscape Architect
§38-2-7. Necessity and Period for Perfecting Lien
§38-2-8. Notice and Recordation of Contractor's Lien
§38-2-9. Notice and Recordation of Subcontractor's Lien
§38-2-10. Notice and Recordation of Lien for Supplies Furnished to Owner
§38-2-11. Notice and Recordation of Lien for Supplies Furnished to Contractor or Subcontractor
§38-2-12. Notice and Recordation of Lien of Mechanic or Laborer Working for Owner
§38-2-14. Discharge of Lien for Failure to Comply With Article
§38-2-15. Publication and Posting of Notice to Nonresident Owner or Owner Not Found
§38-2-16. What Deemed Included in One Contract
§38-2-17. Priority of Mechanics' Liens Over Other Liens
§38-2-18. Priority as Among Mechanics' Lienors
§38-2-19. Demand of Account by Owner; Discharge of Lien for Failure to File Account
§38-2-20. Preliminary Notice to Owner; Effect
§38-2-21. Effect of Payment by Owner to Contractor or Subcontractor
§38-2-22. Limitation of Owner's Liability by Recordation of Contract and Bond of General Contractor
§38-2-23. Effect of Failure of Owner to Record Contract and Bond
§38-2-25. Amount of Rural Land Subject to Lien
§38-2-26. Enforcement of Contractor's Bond in Suit to Enforce Lien
§38-2-28. Proof of Sale and Delivery Prima Facie Proof of Use of Materials
§38-2-29. Lien on Several Structures
§38-2-30. Compensation and Lien of Contractor on Default of Owner
§38-2-31. Lien Against Corporation for Work or Labor; Priority
§38-2-32. Perfecting Lien for Work or Labor Against Corporation
§38-2-33. Clerk to Record Notices of Liens Against Corporations for Work and Labor
§38-2-34. Time Within Which Suit to Enforce Lien May Be Brought; Right of Other Lienors to Intervene
§38-2-35. Decree of Sale in Suit to Enforce Lien; Personal Decree
§38-2-36. Discharge or Release of Lien; Recordation; Escrow; Disbursement of Escrow
§38-2-37. Ordering Clerk to Execute Release When Lienholder Refuses
§38-2-38. Enforcement of Lien by Executor, Administrator or Assignee
§38-2-39. Public Building; Bond of Contractor; Recordation of Bond; No Lien in Such Case