# Building Permit Leads Scraper (US) - AI Scored (`datamint/us-building-permit-leads`) Actor

Fresh building permits from 26 US cities as scored sales leads: roofing, solar, HVAC, pool, remodel and new construction. Owner, contractor, value, address. Optional AI sales insights.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/datamint/us-building-permit-leads.md
- **Developed by:** [DataMint](https://apify.com/datamint) (community)
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $20.00 / 1,000 leads

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## US Building Permit Leads Scraper: AI-Scored Contractor & Construction Leads

Get **fresh construction leads every day** from official US building permits. A building permit means a property owner is spending money on their home or building right now: a new roof, solar panels, a kitchen remodel, an addition or a brand-new house.

This Actor pulls newly issued permits from **official city open-data portals**, sorts them into project types, **scores every lead from 0 to 100**, and can add **AI sales insights**: what the project is, which trades the property will need next, and a ready-to-use opening line for your business.

### Who is it for?

- **Roofers, solar installers, HVAC, plumbers, electricians and pool builders:** find homeowners who are starting projects in your area
- **Remodelers, flooring, cabinets, landscaping, fencing and painters:** large remodels and new builds need many trades
- **Suppliers, dumpster rental and equipment rental:** reach active job sites
- **Home insurance, security and solar sales teams:** new and renovated homes are great prospects
- **Marketing agencies and lead-gen businesses:** build lead lists for contractor clients

### What you get

Each lead includes:

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Lead score and temperature | `80`, `hot` |
| Project types | `roofing`, `solar`, `remodel`, `new_construction`... |
| Address, ZIP, city, map coordinates | `1414 N Elk Grove Ave, Chicago, IL` |
| Issued date | `2026-10-26` |
| Project value | `$1,883,700` |
| Full work description | "Erect a 3-story, 6-dwelling-unit building with basement..." |
| Owner name (where published) | `Cornelia 1211 LLC` |
| Contractor name, phone and email (where published) | `Bachula Development Inc` |
| Why it scored that way | "project value $1.9M", "issued 2 days ago", "no contractor listed yet" |
| **AI summary** (optional) | "New 6-unit residential building with basement." |
| **AI services needed** (optional) | `HVAC`, `flooring`, `landscaping`, `security systems` |
| **AI sales angle** (optional) | Tailored to *your* trade |
| **AI fit score** (optional) | How good this lead is for *your* business |

Download as **Excel, CSV, JSON** or connect it to Google Sheets, a CRM, Zapier, Make or n8n.

### Covered areas: 26 US cities and counties in 17 states

A typical week brings **9,000+ new permits** across these areas.

| State | City / county | Permits per week (approx.) | Owner | Contractor | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AZ | Mesa | 50 | — | ✅ + phone + email | ✅ |
| CA | Los Angeles | 550 | — | — | ✅ |
| CA | San Diego County (unincorporated) | 180 | — | ✅ + phone | some |
| CA | San Francisco | 240 | — | — | ✅ |
| CA | Marin County | 60 | — | ✅ | ✅ |
| CO | Denver (residential) | 75 | — | ✅ | ✅ |
| FL | Miami-Dade County | 900 | ✅ | ✅ + phone | ✅ |
| FL | Orlando | 450 | ✅ | ✅ + phone | ✅ |
| IL | Chicago | 480 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| LA | New Orleans | 230 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| LA | Baton Rouge | 155 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| MA | Boston | 30 | — | — | ✅ |
| MD | Montgomery County | 50 | — | — | ✅ |
| MI | Detroit | 115 | — | — | ✅ |
| NC | Raleigh | 65 | ✅ | ✅ + phone + email | ✅ |
| NY | New York City (all 5 boroughs) | 1,500 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| OH | Columbus | 520 | — | ✅ | some |
| OH | Cleveland | 140 | — | ✅ | ✅ |
| OH | Cincinnati | 125 | — | ✅ | ✅ |
| PA | Philadelphia | 640 | ✅ | ✅ | — |
| TN | Nashville | 150 | — | ✅ | ✅ |
| TX | Dallas | 1,100 | — | rare | rare |
| TX | Austin | 940 | — | ✅ + phone | some |
| TX | Collin County (Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen…) | 150 (posted in batches; search 14–30 days) | ✅ | ✅ | some |
| VA | Norfolk | 210 | — | — | ✅ |
| WA | Seattle | 110 | — | some | ✅ |

Every lead includes the address, issue date, permit type and work description. Most also have a ZIP code and map coordinates.

More cities are added regularly. Missing yours? Open an issue and ask.

### How the lead score works

Each permit gets 0–100 points based on:

- **Project value:** bigger jobs score higher
- **Freshness:** issued in the last 3 days scores highest
- **Residential:** homeowners buy more add-on services
- **Large multi-trade projects:** new builds, additions and remodels over $50k
- **No contractor listed yet:** the owner may still be hiring (only counted in cities that publish contractor names)

**Hot** is 70+, **warm** is 45–69, **cold** is under 45.

### How to use

1. Pick your **cities** and how many **days back** to search.
2. Optional: filter by **project type**, **minimum value**, **ZIP codes**, **keywords**, residential only, or no contractor yet.
3. Optional: turn on **AI insights**, enter your trade (e.g. "roofing company") and a free [Google Gemini API key](https://aistudio.google.com/apikey).
4. Run it. Best leads come first.

**Tip:** [schedule](https://docs.apify.com/platform/schedules) the Actor daily or weekly with "days back" set to match, and send new leads straight to Google Sheets or your CRM.

### Example input

```json
{
  "cities": ["dallas", "austin", "collin_county_tx"],
  "daysBack": 7,
  "categories": ["roofing", "solar"],
  "residentialOnly": true,
  "minProjectValue": 5000,
  "useAi": true,
  "targetTrade": "roofing company",
  "geminiApiKey": "YOUR_KEY"
}
```

### Is this legal?

Yes. All data comes from **official government open-data portals** published for public use (Socrata/SODA APIs and the City of Philadelphia's open data). No websites are scraped, no logins are used, and no anti-bot systems are bypassed.

When you contact leads, follow US marketing laws such as **CAN-SPAM** for email, **TCPA** for calls and texts (don't cold-text or auto-dial consumers without consent), and **Do Not Call** rules. Owner names here are public record but don't include phone numbers or emails.

### FAQ

**How fresh is the data?** Most cities update daily, and permits usually appear 1–2 days after they're issued.

**Why is the owner or contractor empty for some cities?** Not every city publishes these fields. The table above shows what each one provides.

**Do I need the AI?** No. Categories and scores are built in and free. AI adds summaries, next-trade predictions and sales angles.

**What does the AI cost?** Gemini's free tier covers typical use. You use your own key, so there's no markup.

# Actor input Schema

## `cities` (type: `array`):

Which US cities/counties to pull permits from (26 available). Leave empty for all.

## `daysBack` (type: `integer`):

How far back to look. 7 is a good weekly run; schedule the Actor to get new leads automatically.

## `categories` (type: `array`):

Only keep these project types. Leave empty for all.

## `minProjectValue` (type: `integer`):

Skip permits with a declared value below this. Permits with no value listed are skipped when this is above 0.

## `residentialOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Keep only permits identified as residential (homeowners).

## `onlyWithoutContractor` (type: `boolean`):

Owner-pulled permits or projects where no contractor is named yet are often still hiring.

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

Keep only permits whose type/description contains any of these words (e.g. 'kitchen', 'heat pump').

## `zipCodes` (type: `array`):

Keep only permits in these ZIP codes (where the city publishes ZIPs).

## `minLeadScore` (type: `integer`):

Hot leads score 70+, warm 45+.

## `maxLeads` (type: `integer`):

Best-scoring leads are returned first.

## `maxPermitsPerCity` (type: `integer`):

Upper limit of permits fetched from each city before filtering. Raise it for long date ranges in busy cities like NYC or Dallas.

## `useAi` (type: `boolean`):

Adds a plain-English summary, the trades the property will likely need next, a tailored opening line and a fit score. Needs a free Google Gemini API key.

## `targetTrade` (type: `string`):

Used to tailor the AI sales angle and fit score, e.g. 'roofing company', 'solar installer', 'kitchen remodeler', 'home insurance agent'.

## `geminiApiKey` (type: `string`):

Free from https://aistudio.google.com/apikey. Stored encrypted.

## `aiMaxLeads` (type: `integer`):

Only the best-scored leads get AI insights, up to this number. Keeps runs fast and within your Gemini free tier.

## `geminiModel` (type: `string`):

Google Gemini model used for AI insights. Leave the default unless Google retires it.

## `socrataAppToken` (type: `string`):

Only needed for very large or frequent runs to avoid open-data rate limits.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "cities": [
    "los_angeles",
    "dallas",
    "miami_dade",
    "chicago"
  ],
  "daysBack": 7,
  "minProjectValue": 0,
  "residentialOnly": false,
  "onlyWithoutContractor": false,
  "minLeadScore": 0,
  "maxLeads": 500,
  "maxPermitsPerCity": 3000,
  "useAi": false,
  "targetTrade": "home-service contractors",
  "aiMaxLeads": 100,
  "geminiModel": "gemini-2.5-flash"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `leads` (type: `string`):

All leads in the table view, best scores first.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "cities": [
        "los_angeles",
        "dallas",
        "miami_dade",
        "chicago"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("datamint/us-building-permit-leads").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "cities": [
        "los_angeles",
        "dallas",
        "miami_dade",
        "chicago",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("datamint/us-building-permit-leads").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "cities": [
    "los_angeles",
    "dallas",
    "miami_dade",
    "chicago"
  ]
}' |
apify call datamint/us-building-permit-leads --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,datamint/us-building-permit-leads"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/EeR04B1Y1lKnAB781/builds/vDsve53Yd2tipfIgR/openapi.json