Building Permit Search - Multi-City
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Building Permit Search - Multi-City
Search building permits across NYC, Chicago, LA, SF, and Austin via open data APIs. Get permit type, status, address, dates, and more.
Search building permits across 5 major US cities using official open data portals (Socrata/SODA APIs). Returns normalized permit data from NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin.
Supported Cities & Data Sources
| City | Source | Dataset |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | NYC Open Data | DOB Job Applications + DOB Now Permits |
| Chicago | Chicago Data Portal | Building Permits |
| Los Angeles | LA Open Data | LA Build Permits |
| San Francisco | SF Open Data | Building Permits |
| Austin | Austin Open Data | Issued Construction Permits |
Input Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
cities | array | Cities to query: nyc, chicago, la, sf, austin, or all |
searchAddress | string | Street address to search (partial match) |
permitType | string | Filter by type: new building, alteration, demolition, etc. |
status | string | Filter by status: issued, pending, expired, active, filed |
dateFrom | string | Start date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
dateTo | string | End date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
maxResults | integer | Max results per city (1-200, default 50) |
Example Input
{"cities": ["nyc", "chicago"],"searchAddress": "BROADWAY","permitType": "new building","maxResults": 25}
Output Schema
Each result is normalized to a unified schema regardless of source city:
{"city": "New York City","permitNumber": "321386512","permitType": "NB","status": "SIGNED OFF","address": "666 UNION ST BROOKLYN","description": "New 3-story residential building","applicantName": "JOHN SMITH","ownerName": "JANE DOE","contractorName": "ABC CONSTRUCTION LLC","estimatedCost": 500000,"filingDate": "2024-01-15","issuedDate": "2024-03-20","expirationDate": null,"latitude": 40.676829,"longitude": -73.98157,"sourceUrl": "https://data.cityofnewyork.us/resource/ic3t-wcy2.json","scrapedAt": "2024-03-20T12:00:00.000Z"}
Use Cases
- Real estate research: Find construction activity in target neighborhoods
- Lead generation: Identify contractors and property owners filing permits
- Market analysis: Track building trends across major metro areas
- Competitor intelligence: Monitor new construction in your market
- Compliance monitoring: Track permit status and expiration dates
Notes
- All data comes from official city open data portals (no web scraping)
- No proxy required for most use cases (these are public APIs)
- If one city's API fails, the actor continues with remaining cities
- NYC queries two datasets for comprehensive coverage
- Field availability varies by city (some fields may be null)