Building Permit Tracker

Track building permits from US city open data portals. Ideal for real estate investors, contractors, construction companies, and market researchers who need to monitor construction activity.

Supported Cities

City	Data Source	Coverage
Chicago	Chicago Data Portal	All permit types since 2006
New York City	NYC Open Data	DOB permit issuance data
Los Angeles	LA Open Data	Building permits with valuations
Seattle	Seattle Open Data	Permit applications and issued permits
San Francisco	DataSF	Building permits with status tracking

Features

• Multi-city support: Single actor for 5 major US cities
• Flexible filtering: Filter by permit type, status, date range, and estimated cost
• Standardized output: Consistent data format across all cities
• GPS coordinates: Optional lat/long for mapping and analysis
• Direct permit URLs: Links to official permit records

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
city	string	City to scrape (chicago, nyc, los_angeles, seattle, san_francisco)	chicago
permitType	string	Filter by permit type (partial match)	all
dateFrom	string	Start date (YYYY-MM-DD)	none
dateTo	string	End date (YYYY-MM-DD)	none
status	string	Filter by status (ACTIVE, COMPLETE, etc.)	all
minCost	integer	Minimum estimated project cost	0
maxResults	integer	Maximum permits to return	100
includeCoordinates	boolean	Include GPS coordinates	true

Example Input

{
    "city": "chicago",
    "permitType": "NEW CONSTRUCTION",
    "dateFrom": "2024-01-01",
    "dateTo": "2024-12-31",
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "minCost": 100000,
    "maxResults": 500
}

Output Data

Each permit record contains:

Field	Description
permitNumber	Official permit number
permitType	Type of permit (residential, commercial, demolition, etc.)
status	Current status (approved, pending, complete, etc.)
address	Property address
applicant	Property owner or applicant name
contractor	General contractor name
projectDescription	Description of permitted work
estimatedCost	Estimated project cost
issueDate	Date permit was issued
expirationDate	Permit expiration date
applicationDate	Date application was submitted
city	City name
permitUrl	Direct link to permit record
latitude	GPS latitude (if includeCoordinates=true)
longitude	GPS longitude (if includeCoordinates=true)

Example Output

{
    "permitNumber": "101072844",
    "permitType": "PERMIT - RENOVATION/ALTERATION",
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "address": "2219 S OAKLEY AVE",
    "applicant": "PAUL TSAKIRIS",
    "contractor": "ALL TECH BUILDERS & RESTORATION INC",
    "projectDescription": "BUILD A DORMER ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE EXISTING 8-UNIT RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ROOF",
    "estimatedCost": 20000,
    "issueDate": "2025-10-14T00:00:00.000",
    "city": "Chicago",
    "permitUrl": "https://webapps1.chicago.gov/buildingrecords/permit?permitNumber=101072844",
    "latitude": 41.85149,
    "longitude": -87.68303
}

Use Cases

Real Estate Investment

• Monitor new construction in target neighborhoods
• Track renovation activity for market analysis
• Identify areas with increasing development

Construction Industry

• Find upcoming projects for bidding
• Research contractor competition
• Track permit processing times

Market Research

• Analyze construction trends by area
• Compare permit volumes across cities
• Track commercial vs residential development

Lead Generation

• Find property owners starting projects
• Identify contractors winning permits
• Build prospect lists by project type/size

Rate Limits

This actor uses official city open data APIs (Socrata platform) which are free and public. Rate limits are generous but please be respectful:

• Chicago: 1000 requests/hour without app token
• NYC: 1000 requests/hour without app token
• Other cities: Similar limits

For higher volumes, consider registering for a free Socrata app token.

Notes

• Data freshness varies by city (typically updated daily to weekly)
• Some historical permits may have incomplete data
• Permit URLs link to official city systems which may require additional navigation
• Cost estimates are self-reported and may not reflect actual construction costs

Changelog

v1.0 (2025-01)

• Initial release with 5 city support
• Standardized output format
• Flexible filtering options