Maintenance Lien

British Columbia Family Maintenance Enforcement Program

November 9, 2009
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What is a maintenance lien?

As soon as a maintenance order or agreement is filed with the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP), we are responsible under the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act for monitoring and enforcing that order.

That means we have the authority to take certain actions to make sure the person who is supposed to pay maintenance (called the payor) makes his or her maintenance payments.

One of those actions is to register a maintenance lien against the personal property such as a motor vehicle, boat, trailer or manufactured home of any payor who falls behind in his or her scheduled payments.

The lien gives the FMEP rights to that property until the payor has paid all arrears.

Does that mean the FMEP will seize a payor's car or truck, for example?

No, it does not mean that the FMEP will physically remove any personal property. Rather, a maintenance lien against a car or other item of personal property means that the payor:

cannot sell or transfer ownership of that property until the maintenance debt is paid, or
must use all or part of the proceeds from the sale of that property to help pay the maintenance debt.

In the case of a manufactured home, it also means the payor cannot move the home from one location to another without FMEP approval.

When and where do you register a maintenance lien?

Any payor who falls behind in his or her scheduled payments should contact us to work out a plan for paying the arrears in addition to making regular maintenance payments. If the payor does not contact us to make payment arrangements, we will register a maintenance lien against the payor's personal property with the Personal Property Registry (which includes the Manufactured Homes Registry).

How much will the lien be for?

The lien will be for the amount of maintenance owed by the payor on the date the lien is registered. The lien will increase with any additional arrears, and will include any costs or fees the payor might owe to the Director of Maintenance Enforcement.

What happens when a payor wants to sell the property?

Auto dealers always check to find out whether there is a lien against a vehicle brought in for trade or sale. So do most people making a major purchase, such as a car, RV or manufactured home.

When a potential buyer checks with the registry, he or she will be told that there is a lien against the property, and that they will be responsible for the lien if they buy the property which means the sale will most likely not go through.

How long will the lien stay in place?

The lien will stay in place as long as the maintenance order or agreement is filed with the FMEP, or until either:

the arrears are paid, or
the property is sold and the arrears are paid out of the proceeds of that sale.

Can the payor ask for a review of the lien?

We will send a notice telling the payor that we have filed the lien. If the payor believes there is an error that he or she is not in arrears, for example the payor may ask us to review the case. If we discover an error, we will withdraw the lien.

Document Revised: November 1, 2005