# Building Permits Scraper - New Permits from 5 US Cities (`perskekits/building-permits-multi-city`) Actor

New building permits from Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Austin and Seattle in one normalized format: address, job value, work description, contractor, owner and status. Filter by keyword (roof, solar, pool, HVAC) and value. Leads for contractors.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/perskekits/building-permits-multi-city.md
- **Developed by:** [PerskeKits](https://apify.com/perskekits) (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

from $5.00 / 1,000 results

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 Permits Scraper - New Permits from 5 US Cities

Pull newly issued building permits from official open-data portals in Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Austin and Seattle - normalized into one schema with valuation, contractor and owner info.

**Popular searches this Actor covers:** building permits scraper, building permit data API, new construction leads, contractor leads from permits, permit data Chicago NYC Los Angeles Austin Seattle.

### What can you use it for?

- Contractors, roofers, solar, HVAC and pool companies finding new jobs
- Building material suppliers and equipment rental
- Real estate investors tracking renovation activity
- Construction market research and reporting

### Quick start (one click)

Press **Start** - the default input returns results in about a minute for a few cents. Example input:

```json
{
  "cities": [
    "chicago",
    "new-york",
    "los-angeles",
    "austin",
    "seattle"
  ],
  "daysBack": 7,
  "maxItemsPerCity": 20
}
```

### Example output

| city | permitNumber | issueDate | permitType | address | valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 101083682 | 2026-10-28 | PERMIT - RENOVATION/ALTERATION | 2620 W 51ST ST | 15000 |
| Chicago | 101084071 | 2026-10-28 | PERMIT - NEW CONSTRUCTION | 1733 W JULIAN ST | 475000 |
| Chicago | 101084225 | 2026-10-28 | PERMIT - RENOVATION/ALTERATION | 13122 S ELLIS AVE | 14500000 |

Full records contain more fields (see the Output / Dataset tab). Download as **CSV, Excel, JSON** or use the Apify API, schedules and integrations (Zapier, Make, Google Sheets, webhooks).

### Pricing

Pay only for what you get (pay per event):

- **$0.005 per permit** returned
- **$0.005 per run start**

Examples: 100 permits = $0.505; 1,000 permits = $5.00. Apify free plan credits cover small runs.

### FAQ

**Which cities?**
Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Austin and Seattle.

**Can I filter by value or keyword?**
Yes - minValuation and keywords (e.g. 'solar', 'roof').

**Is this legal?**
It collects publicly available data only. You are responsible for using it in line with applicable laws (e.g. CAN-SPAM, GDPR, TCPA) and the source's terms.

**Can I schedule it?**
Yes - use Apify Schedules to run it daily and get new records automatically, then send them to Google Sheets, Slack or your CRM via integrations.

**Need a custom field, source or done-for-you list?**
Open an issue on the Issues tab - feature requests are welcome.

### Technical details

Fresh **building permits** from the official open-data portals of **Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Austin and Seattle**, normalized into one format. Built for roofers, solar installers, pool builders, HVAC, remodelers, suppliers and lenders who want to reach property owners and contractors right after a permit is issued.

### Sources (official, public, updated daily)

| City | Dataset |
|---|---|
| Chicago | data.cityofchicago.org `ydr8-5enu` Building Permits |
| New York | data.cityofnewyork.us `rbx6-tga4` DOB NOW Build Approved Permits |
| Los Angeles | data.lacity.org `pi9x-tg5x` Building Permits Issued 2020-present |
| Austin | data.austintexas.gov `3syk-w9eu` Issued Construction Permits |
| Seattle | data.seattle.gov `76t5-zqzr` Building Permits |

### Output

`city`, `state`, `permitNumber`, `issueDate`, `appliedDate`, `status`, `permitType`, `workType`, `description`, `address`, `zip`, `valuation`, `contractorName`, `contractorPhone`, `ownerName`, `applicantName`, `latitude`, `longitude`, `url`, `source`.

Not every city publishes every field, so some are `null`:

- `contractorPhone`: Austin only.
- `ownerName`: Chicago and New York only.
- `contractorName`: not published by Los Angeles.
- `url`: a link to the city record, for Austin and Seattle.
- `zip`: not published by Chicago.
- `valuation`: as reported by the applicant. Some cities record a placeholder such as 0 or 1.

```json
{"city": "Austin", "state": "TX", "permitNumber": "2026-142471 BP", "issueDate": "2026-10-28", "permitType": "Building Permit", "workType": "Repair",
 "description": "Express: Replace roof (not going past decking)", "address": "10733 CHESTNUT RIDGE RD", "zip": "78726",
 "contractorName": "Water Damage and Roofing", "contractorPhone": "(512) 820-6505", "latitude": 30.44, "longitude": -97.82}
```

### Input

| Field | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `cities` | all 5 | `chicago`, `new-york`, `los-angeles`, `austin`, `seattle` |
| `daysBack` | 7 | Permits issued in the last N days |
| `dateFrom` / `dateTo` | - | Exact issue-date range (`YYYY-MM-DD`) |
| `keywords` | - | Match any word in the work description, e.g. `ROOF`, `SOLAR`, `POOL` (case-insensitive) |
| `minValuation` | - | Minimum reported job value; permits without a value are excluded |
| `maxItemsPerCity` | 20 | Newest first |

Some cities publish with a delay of a few days (Los Angeles is usually 3-5 days behind).

### Pricing

Pay per result: one `result` event per permit.

# Actor input Schema

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

Cities to pull issued permits from.

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

Permits issued in the last N days (ignored if Date from is set).

## `dateFrom` (type: `string`):

Optional start of the issue-date range.

## `dateTo` (type: `string`):

Optional end of the issue-date range. Defaults to today.

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

Only permits whose work description contains any of these words, e.g. ROOF, SOLAR, POOL, HVAC.

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

Only permits with a reported job value at or above this amount (permits without a value are excluded).

## `maxItemsPerCity` (type: `integer`):

Newest permits first.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "cities": [
    "chicago",
    "new-york",
    "los-angeles",
    "austin",
    "seattle"
  ],
  "daysBack": 7,
  "maxItemsPerCity": 20
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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",
        "new-york",
        "los-angeles",
        "austin",
        "seattle"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("perskekits/building-permits-multi-city").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",
        "new-york",
        "los-angeles",
        "austin",
        "seattle",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("perskekits/building-permits-multi-city").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",
    "new-york",
    "los-angeles",
    "austin",
    "seattle"
  ]
}' |
apify call perskekits/building-permits-multi-city --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/CWT9E3P5KiTxsGbyO/builds/pLA6RlytKAHvpOg48/openapi.json