Lien waivers or lien release forms are required, in some states, to be given after and sometimes before a progress payment is made to the roofing contractor. Exactly what is included in a lien waiver/release is codified into law by many states.
Even if not required by state law, most commercial customers, for their protection, will ask for a lien release before making a progress or final payment. Also, roofing jobs with a funding control such as a construction lender or jobs where the work is paid from insurance proceeds, will require these forms be given. And if you pick up the latest copy of AARP or some other magazine, it is hard not to find an article about contracting for any type improvement work, roofing included, on your home, that does not recommend getting lien releases when making any progress or final payment on the work.
A recurring nightmare every contractor has had at one time or another is, during a time when bank accounts are low, having to depend on receiving a check to make payroll. If that happens, an even worse scenario is going to pick up that check on a Friday morning and being told your payment is delayed until you submit a statutory lien waiver. a form which you don't have, and which nobody local seems to carry. Every roofing contractor should have all statutory lien waiver, lien release forms available for when this situation happens. Having these required forms is just good sense.
Completion Certificates are also important because a completion certificate serves to set a point in time, or memorializes, when the interested parties on your roofing project have looked at and acknowledged satisfaction with the roofing work. This is important both from a legal perspective and from the "psychological" standpoint of the customer. A customer who agrees they are satisfied, by signing a completion certificate, is not likely to, at a later date say. "well the job was never really done right but we paid because the contractor pressured us". which, during any future dispute that we hope doesn't happen but could, is often given as a reason to explain why the customer paid the roofer even though they were supposedly unhappy with the work done.
Lien waivers and completion certificates go hand in hand because the best time to get a completion certificate signed is at the same time you give the customer a lien waiver. That's why our lien waivers and completion certificates are on the same form. Used in this way, the form then becomes an "I give and you give back" situation. The customer gets a waiver from the roofing contractor on their right to lien the property. and the roofing contractor gets the completion certificate signed acknowledging that the work was done properly. This is "Win-Win" and is the easiest way to get a completion signed.