# US Building Permit Leads: 6 cities, tagged by trade (`johnveds15/us-building-permit-leads`) Actor

Newly issued building permits from 6 major US cities' open-data portals in one schema: address, date, description, valuation, contractor (+ phone in Austin), lat/lon. Tagged by trade (roofing, solar, HVAC, pool, ADU...) so you pull only yours. onlyNew mode for daily runs. $2 per 1,000 permits.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/johnveds15/us-building-permit-leads.md
- **Developed by:** [John Vedovino II](https://apify.com/johnveds15) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Real estate
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$2.00 / 1,000 permits

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

## Building Permit Leads Scraper – NYC, LA, Chicago, SF, Austin and Seattle

**Pull contractor leads from fresh building permits in six of the largest US cities in a single run.** A roofer asks for `roofing`, a solar installer for `solar`, an HVAC company for `hvac` — across New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Austin and Seattle. Every row is a real address with a funded job issued this week. No browser, no proxy, no API key. **$0.002 per permit.**

### Use cases

- **Roofing and HVAC contractor leads** — filter permits tagged `roofing` or `hvac` issued in the last 7 days; each row is a homeowner with a funded job open today.
- **Solar installer prospecting** — narrow `solar` permits by ZIP to find homeowners actively installing solar in your service area.
- **Building permit data for supplier outreach** — suppliers to plumbing, electrical or window contractors track permit volume by city and week to time their outreach.
- **Proptech and insurtech renovation signals** — monitor building permit activity by neighborhood for renovation risk models or home-value trend feeds.

### Who this is for

- **Contractors and their marketers:** roofing, solar, HVAC, pools, ADUs, windows, fencing, electrical and plumbing. A permit means a homeowner or builder with a funded job, at an address, this week.
- **Suppliers and distributors** selling to the contractors who pull the permits. In Austin you also get the contractor's phone.
- **Home-services marketplaces, proptech and insurers** tracking renovation activity by ZIP.

### A real record (contractor phone masked here, delivered in full)

From a live run on 2026-10-05 (Austin, HVAC):

```json
{
  "city": "austin",
  "issuedDate": "2026-10-05",
  "address": "3500 S LAMAR BLVD", "zip": "78704", "state": "TX",
  "trades": ["hvac", "remodel"],
  "workType": "Mechanical Permit Remodel",
  "description": "Change of use to Medical (Physical Therapy) with Interior remodel.",
  "contractor": "G & P heating and Air Conditioning",
  "contractorPhone": "737•••••••",
  "url": "https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/permit/public-search-other?t_detail=1&t_selected_folderrsn=13771827",
  "source": "https://data.austintexas.gov/d/3syk-w9eu"
}
```

That test run covered 3 days (2026-10-03 to 2026-10-05) with trades set to roofing, solar and hvac. It scanned 1,142 permits across the six cities and kept 255: 168 HVAC, 90 roofing and 31 solar. It took about 8 seconds.

### One schema for six portals

| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| `city`, `permitNumber`, `issuedDate` | ISO date. |
| `address`, `zip`, `state`, `lat`, `lon` | Chicago publishes no ZIP. |
| `description`, `workType`, `permitType` | The city's own wording. |
| `trades` | Tags from workType and description: `roofing`, `solar`, `hvac`, `pool`, `adu`, `electrical`, `plumbing`, `windows`, `fence`, `demolition`, `new-construction`, `remodel`, `ev-charger`, `kitchen-bath`, `masonry`, `foundation`. One permit can carry several. |
| `valuation` | Declared job cost. `null` when the city gives none: Austin publishes none, and SF and NYC use $0 or $1 as a placeholder. |
| `contractor`, `contractorPhone`, `owner` | Whatever the city publishes. Austin has contractor name and phone, NYC has the applicant business and owner name, and Chicago has the contractor and owner contacts. |
| `url`, `source` | The city record link (Austin, Seattle) and the open-data dataset. |

| City | Portal | Dataset |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | DOB NOW approved permits | `data.cityofnewyork.us` `rbx6-tga4` |
| Los Angeles | LADBS permits | `data.lacity.org` `pi9x-tg5x` |
| Chicago | Building permits | `data.cityofchicago.org` `ydr8-5enu` |
| San Francisco | DBI building permits | `data.sfgov.org` `i98e-djp9` |
| Austin | Issued construction permits | `data.austintexas.gov` `3syk-w9eu` |
| Seattle | SDCI building permits | `data.seattle.gov` `76t5-zqzr` |

If one city's portal is down, the run logs it and carries on with the others.

### Input

| Field | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| `cities` | all six | Which portals to read. |
| `lookbackDays` | 7 | Issued in the last N days, ending at `endDate`. Portals lag 1–2 days. |
| `trades` | all | Keep permits tagged with any of these. |
| `minValuation` | 0 | Above 0, permits with no valuation are dropped. |
| `zipCodes`, `keywords` | all | Narrow to your territory and wording, e.g. `tesla`, `generator`. |
| `onlyNew` | false | Permit numbers already delivered to you (remembered for 120 days in your account) are skipped and not charged. |
| `maxResults` | 1000 | Hard cap on permits, and so on cost. |

### Pricing

Pay per event: **$0.002 per permit delivered** after your filters. Filtered-out permits cost nothing. A week of roofing, solar and HVAC permits across all six cities is roughly 500–600 rows, about $1.10.

### Limits

- Trade tags come from keyword rules on the city's own text. They aren't perfect. A permit described only as "alteration" won't say whether a roof is involved. Check the `description`.
- Homeowner names and phones are only included where the city itself publishes them.
- Six cities for now. Each new city is a dataset mapping. Ask in Issues for yours.

### More Actors by johnveds15

Same pay-per-result pricing, same JSON/CSV output, no login needed:

- [SEC Form D funding rounds](https://apify.com/johnveds15/sec-form-d-funding-rounds)
- [FMCSA new trucking carrier leads](https://apify.com/johnveds15/fmcsa-new-carrier-leads)
- [Competitor ad library scraper (Google Ads + LinkedIn)](https://apify.com/johnveds15/ad-library-competitor-ads)
- [Google Flights fares and price history](https://apify.com/johnveds15/google-flights-fares)

# Actor input Schema

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

Which city portals to read.

## `lookbackDays` (type: `integer`):

How many days back from the end date to collect issued permits (1 to 90).

## `endDate` (type: `string`):

Defaults to today. Most portals publish with a 1-2 day lag.

## `trades` (type: `array`):

Keep permits tagged with any of these. Empty = all permits.

## `minValuation` (type: `integer`):

Permits without a published valuation are dropped when this is above 0. Austin publishes no valuation.

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

Only these 5-digit ZIPs. Chicago's dataset has no ZIP. Empty = all.

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

Case-insensitive words that must appear in the description (any of them).

## `onlyNew` (type: `boolean`):

Remembers delivered permit numbers for 120 days in a named key-value store in YOUR account.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on permits pushed (and charged) this run.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "cities": [
    "austin"
  ],
  "lookbackDays": 3,
  "trades": [],
  "minValuation": 0,
  "zipCodes": [],
  "keywords": [],
  "onlyNew": false,
  "maxResults": 200
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `permits` (type: `string`):

One normalised row per permit kept by the filters.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Per-city rows scanned and pushed, events charged.

# 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": [
        "austin"
    ],
    "lookbackDays": 3,
    "maxResults": 200
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("johnveds15/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": ["austin"],
    "lookbackDays": 3,
    "maxResults": 200,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("johnveds15/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": [
    "austin"
  ],
  "lookbackDays": 3,
  "maxResults": 200
}' |
apify call johnveds15/us-building-permit-leads --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,johnveds15/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/BlnUSzKEHGkUQ0xi7/builds/NjuVHnf6C5dSFEvmE/openapi.json