# US Building Permits Monitor – Contractor Leads (`orventasystems/building-permits-monitor`) Actor

New building permits from official city open-data portals (Chicago, NYC, LA, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Baton Rouge) in one clean format: work, value, address and contractor. Only-new mode for daily lead alerts.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/orventasystems/building-permits-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Purvin Patel](https://apify.com/orventasystems) (community)
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $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

## US Building Permits Monitor – Contractor Leads

Get **new building permits from 9 major US cities** in one clean, consistent format: what's being built, project value, address and the contractor on the job. Turn on **Only new permits** and schedule it daily for a steady stream of fresh construction leads.

Data comes straight from each city's **official open-data portal**. No API key, no login, no scraping of private sites.

### Cities covered

| City | Contractor info | Project value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL | ✅ all contractors on the permit, by trade | ✅ | |
| New York City, NY | ✅ permittee business + license | ✅ | DOB NOW approved permits; published a few days after issue |
| Los Angeles, CA | – | ✅ | |
| Austin, TX | ✅ company, trade, **phone** | partial | |
| Seattle, WA | partial | ✅ | |
| San Francisco, CA | – | ✅ | |
| New Orleans, LA | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Cincinnati, OH | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Baton Rouge, LA | partial | partial | |

About **5,000 permits a week** across all cities. More cities coming; request yours in the Issues tab.

### Who uses this

- **Contractors and subcontractors** (roofing, solar, HVAC, plumbing, electrical): find jobs and see who's winning them
- **Building material suppliers and distributors**: reach contractors with active projects
- **Home services, insurance, security and moving companies**: target properties with recent work
- **Real estate investors and analysts**: track development, ADUs, new housing units and renovation hot spots

### Why this Actor

- 🔁 **Only new permits**: remembers what you've already received, so daily schedules return just the new ones.
- 🧹 **One schema for every city**: the same columns whether it's Chicago or San Francisco.
- 🎯 **Lead filters**: minimum project value, keywords (`roof`, `solar`, `HVAC`, `kitchen`, `new construction`…), exclude keywords, and "only permits with a contractor listed".
- ⚡ **Fast and inexpensive**: uses the cities' official data APIs, with no browser. All 9 cities for a week take under a minute.
- 🔒 **Privacy-conscious**: outputs permit, property and contractor/business information only. Homeowner and applicant names are never collected.

### Example input

```json
{
  "cities": ["chicago", "austin", "seattle"],
  "issuedWithinDays": 7,
  "keywords": ["roof", "solar"],
  "minValuation": 10000,
  "requireContractor": true,
  "onlyNew": true
}
```

**Daily lead alerts:** create a Task with your filters, turn on **Only new permits**, keep the window at 7 days (some cities publish with a delay), and add a daily **Schedule**. Connect the results to Google Sheets, Slack, email, Zapier or Make with Apify integrations.

### Example output

```json
{
  "id": "austin:2026-131140 EP",
  "city": "Austin",
  "state": "TX",
  "permitNumber": "2026-131140 EP",
  "permitType": "Electrical Permit",
  "workType": "Residential Upgrade",
  "description": "set new pole for new meter, run conduit to new exterior 200amp panel",
  "status": "Active",
  "issuedDate": "2026-10-20",
  "appliedDate": "2026-10-06",
  "address": "908 CALLE LIMON",
  "zip": "78702",
  "latitude": 30.2599,
  "longitude": -97.6959,
  "valuation": null,
  "contractorName": "The Service Electrician",
  "contractorTrade": "Electrical Contractor",
  "contractorPhone": "5124845907",
  "contractors": [{ "name": "The Service Electrician", "trade": "Electrical Contractor", "phone": "5124845907" }],
  "link": "https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/permit/public-search-other?...",
  "source": "https://data.austintexas.gov/d/3syk-w9eu"
}
```

Also included where the city provides it: `squareFeet`, `housingUnits`, `contractorLicense`, and every contractor on the permit in `contractors` (e.g. Chicago lists general, electrical and plumbing contractors separately).

### Input reference

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Cities | Which cities to include (default: Chicago). |
| Issued within the last N days | Date window, 1–365 days (default 7). |
| Minimum project value | Only permits with a declared value at or above this amount. |
| Keywords / Exclude keywords | Match against the description, permit type and work type. |
| Only permits with a contractor listed | Lead-gen mode. LA and SF data have no contractor names. |
| Only new permits | Return only permits not seen in earlier runs with the same filters. |
| Maximum results | Cap per run, across all cities. |
| Socrata app token | Optional. Only for very large pulls if a portal rate-limits. |

### Notes on the data

- Values are as reported by each city. "Project value" is the applicant's declared cost, and some cities record placeholders (like $1), which this Actor removes.
- If a city's portal is temporarily down, that city is skipped for the run (with a warning) and the rest still complete.
- Permit data is public record published by each city under its open-data terms.

### Related Actors

- **[US Contractor Licenses – Multi-State Leads](https://apify.com/orventasystems/contractor-licenses)**: check license status, trade and expiry for the contractors on these permits, or find newly licensed contractors in WA, OR, TX, CO, CT, IL and NY.
- **[SAM.gov Contract Opportunities Monitor](https://apify.com/orventasystems/samgov-opportunities-monitor)**: new federal contract bids by NAICS and set-aside.

### Support

Missing a city, field or filter you need? Open an issue on the **Issues** tab. I typically reply within one business day.

# Actor input Schema

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

Which cities to monitor. Each uses the city's official open-data permit records.

## `issuedWithinDays` (type: `integer`):

Permits issued in the last N days (1–365). Some cities publish permits a few days after issue, so for a daily schedule keep 7 and turn on 'Only new permits' – nothing is missed and nothing repeats.

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

Only permits with a declared project value/cost at or above this amount. Permits with no declared value are excluded when this is set.

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

Only permits whose description, permit type or work type contains at least one of these, e.g. roof, solar, HVAC, kitchen, new construction, demolition.

## `excludeKeywords` (type: `array`):

Skip permits mentioning any of these, e.g. sign, fence, sidewalk.

## `requireContractor` (type: `boolean`):

Skip permits that have no contractor/company name. Note: Los Angeles and San Francisco open data does not include contractor names.

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

Remember permits already returned by earlier runs (with the same filters) and output only new ones. Turn on for scheduled daily/weekly lead alerts.

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

Stop after this many permits are saved (across all cities).

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

Optional free token from any Socrata open-data portal (e.g. data.cityofchicago.org → Developer settings). Only needed for very large pulls if a portal starts rate-limiting. Not required.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "cities": [
    "chicago"
  ],
  "issuedWithinDays": 7,
  "keywords": [],
  "excludeKeywords": [],
  "requireContractor": false,
  "onlyNew": false,
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

Building permits found by this run.

# 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": [
        "chicago"
    ],
    "issuedWithinDays": 7,
    "maxResults": 100
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("orventasystems/building-permits-monitor").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": ["chicago"],
    "issuedWithinDays": 7,
    "maxResults": 100,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("orventasystems/building-permits-monitor").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": [
    "chicago"
  ],
  "issuedWithinDays": 7,
  "maxResults": 100
}' |
apify call orventasystems/building-permits-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,orventasystems/building-permits-monitor"
        }
    }
}
```

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/1xb0Hzi2i0Epcko4w/builds/6oKU8DnxYHmzqHnJS/openapi.json