If you ever have a dispute about repairs to your personal property, such as your motor vehicle, boat, or computer, you may be faced with a case under the Repair and Storage Liens Act. This Act creates a code for the creation, maintenance, and enforcement of liens by unpaid “repairers” and “storers.” A repairer under the Act is simply a person whom makes a repair with the understanding that the person will be paid for the repair. Repairs include an expenditure of money on, or the application of labour, skill, or material to tangible personal property for the purpose of altering, improving, or restoring its properties or maintaining its condition. Included in the term “repair” is the cost of transporting the property for the purpose of making the repair, such as towing it.
A repairer’s lien arises from the time that the repair is commenced. The amount of the lien is the amount that the customer agreed to pay or the fair value of the repair. The repairer is entitled to retain possession of the property until the lien amount has been paid. Hence, it is called a “possessory lien.” If your motor boat has been repaired and you have not paid the invoice because you dispute the amount of the invoice, the repairer may keep or “possess” the boat until the lien is paid. A possessory lien has priority over the interests of all other persons in the property, even the bank if it financed the purchase of the property.
Often, the lien is one for storage and repairs because the repaired property must be stored until paid for. Thus, an owner of repaired property that has not been paid for may be exposed to storage costs as well as repair costs in a dispute with the repairer. Both the possessory repairer lien claimant and the possessory storer lien claimant have a right to sell the property 60 days after payment is due.
The Act also provides for a non-possessory lien. This occurs when a lien claimant, who is entitled to a possessory lien against personal property, gives up possession of the property without having been paid the full amount of the possessory lien. A non-possessory lien is for the amount that remains unpaid and takes effect when the lien claimant gives up possession of the property. A non-possessory lien affects the ownership of the property because it may be registered under the registration system established by the Personal Property Security Act. So, if you try to sell your motor boat, you must pay the lien first to give clear, unencumbered, title to the purchaser.