Lien Waivers from Contractors and Subcontractors

[Christopher Andrews]

2nd post today about this rental.  What an education!

Huge reno on a gutted house I bought this past Dec.  Hired a licensed home builder general contractor to pull the permits and reno the property.  He hired a crummy electrician.  This guy has caused numerous delays, and has been a headache from the start.  Shouldn't be my problem; that's why I hired a GC...  

Anyway, now there's a dispute between my GC and his sub over about $300 in scope.  The electrician sent me a text over the weekend telling me he's going to go file a lien on my property today.  I don't know whether he did, was bluffing, or will soon.  Seems unlikely as I understand even after he files the lien, he still has to litigate it to get a judgment or something.  

Trying to figure out how best to protect myself. It's in my contract with my GC that I will require a lien waiver before final payment, contigent upon final payment.  Can I require him to secure and provide one to me from his sub now that his sub is threatening the lien?  Anyone out there had to deal with this before?