One consequence of Oregon’s policy of strictly limiting who may claim a construction lien is that a claimant may not assign a lien before it is perfected. Until a lien is perfected by public recording, it is considered a personal privilege. Any assignment before perfection will result in loss of the construction lien claim, because the assignee did not furnish the items for which the lien may be claimed. However, after a construction lien claim is perfected, it becomes a transferable right and may be assigned along with the underlying debt.
Oregon also applies this rule prohibiting pre-perfection assignment to non-consensual transfers. Even if the transfer is involuntary or occurs by operation of law, a construction lien may not be transferred before perfection unless permitted by statute. For example, ORS 114.315 gives a personal representative of a deceased construction lien claimant the same rights to perfect a lien as the decedent would have had if the decedent were living. Accordingly, under Oregon law, a construction lien must be perfected before it may be transferred, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, unless a statute expressly provides otherwise.
