MHHS · Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act
Part 1 — General
1 Definitions
(a) "certificate of substan tial performance" means a
certificate of substantial performance issued under section
19;
(b) "contractor" means a person contracting with or employed
directly by an owner or the owner's agent to do work on
or to furnish materials for an improvement, but does not
include a labourer;
(c) "court" means the C ourt of King's Bench;
(d) "improvement" means anyt hing constructed, erected,
built, placed, dug or drilled, or intended to be constructed,
erected, built, placed, dug or drilled, on or in land except a
thing that is neither affixed to the land nor intended to be
or become part of the land;
(e) "labourer" means a person employed for wages in any
kind of labour whether employed under a contract of
service or not;
(f) "lienholder" means a person who has a lien arising under
this Act;
(g) "lien fund" means, as th e case may be, the major lien
fund, the minor lien fund or both the major lien fund and
the minor lien fund;
(h) "major lien fund" means
(i) where a certificate of substantial performance is not
issued, the amount required to be retained under
section 18(1), (1.1) or (1.2) plus any amount payable
under the contract
(A) that is over and above the 10% referred to in
section 18(1), (1.1) or (1.2), and
(B) that has not been paid by the owner in good
faith while there is no lien registered;
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(ii) where a certificate of s ubstantial performance is
issued, the amount required to be retained under
section 18(1), (1.1) or (1.2) plus any amount payable
under the contract
(A) that is over and above the 10% referred to in
section 18(1), (1.1) or (1.2), and
(B) that, with respect to an y work done or materials
furnished before the date of issue of the
certificate of substantial performance, has not
been paid by the owner in good faith while there
is no lien registered;
(i) "minor lien fund" means the amount required to be
retained under section 23(1), (1.1) or (1.2) plus any
amount payable under the contract
(i) that is over and above the 10% referred to in section
23(1), (1.1) or (1.2), and
(ii) that, with respect to an y work done or materials
furnished on and after the date of issue of a
certificate of substantial performance, has not been
paid by the owner in good faith while there is no lien
registered;
(j) "owner" means a person having an estate or interest in
land at whose request, express or implied, and
(i) on whose credit,
(ii) on whose behalf,
(iii) with whose privity and consent, or
(iv) for whose direct benefit,
work is done on or material is furnished for an
improvement to the land and includes all persons claiming
under the owner whose rights are acquired after the
commencement of the work or the furnishing of the
material;
(k) "prescribed" means pres cribed by the regulations;
(l) "registered lienholder" means a lienholder who has
registered a statement of lien in the appropriate land titles
office and includes a lienholder who has registered a
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statement of lien that has been removed pursuant to
section 27 or 48(1);
(m) "Registrar" means the Registrar of Land Titles;
(n) "subcontractor" mean s a person other than
(i) a labourer,
(ii) a person engaged only in furnishing materials, or
(iii) a person engaged only in the performance of
services,
who is not a contractor but i s contracted with or employed
under a contract;
(o) "wages" means money earn ed by a labourer for work
done, whether by time or as piece-work or otherwise;
(p) "work" includes the pe rformance of services on the
improvement.
RSA 2000 cB-7 s1;2001 c20 s2;2006 c21 s26;2020 c30 s4;
AR 217/2022