# Building Permits Feed - Construction Leads (7 US Cities) (`real_mccoy/building-permits-feed`) Actor

Daily feed of newly issued building permits from Chicago, NYC, Los Angeles, Austin, Seattle, New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Job value, address, owner and contractor in one schema. Filter by value and keywords; returns only permits you haven't seen.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/real_mccoy/building-permits-feed.md
- **Developed by:** [Josh McCoy](https://apify.com/real_mccoy) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 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 Permits Feed: Construction Leads from Chicago, NYC, LA, Austin, Seattle, New Orleans & Baton Rouge

Get **newly issued building permits every day** from the official open-data portals of **7 US cities**, all in one clean schema: permit type, work description, **estimated job value**, address, owner, **contractor**, and a link to the official record.

Schedule it and every run returns **only permits you haven't received before**: a ready-made construction lead feed.

### Who uses it

- **Contractors and subcontractors**: roofers, solar, HVAC, electricians, plumbers, pool builders, landscapers, fence and window companies
- **Building-material suppliers and equipment rental** looking for active job sites
- **Insurance, lenders and real-estate investors** watching renovation and new-construction activity
- **Market researchers** tracking construction trends by city

### Cities covered

Chicago · New York City (DOB NOW) · Los Angeles · Austin · Seattle · New Orleans · Baton Rouge

### What you get for each permit

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| `city`, `permitNumber`, `issuedDate` | Chicago, 101099123, 2026-10-20 |
| `permitType`, `workClass` | PERMIT - RENOVATION/ALTERATION |
| `description` | Interior remodel of 2nd floor restaurant |
| `estimatedValue` | 250000 |
| `address`, `zip`, `latitude`, `longitude` | 1530 N DAMEN AVE |
| `owner` | DAMEN LLC |
| `contractor`, `contractorPhone` | ACME BUILDERS INC |
| `applicant`, `status` | |
| `recordUrl` | link to the city's permit record (Austin, Seattle) |

Fields a city doesn't publish are left empty.

### How to use it

1. Choose cities (or leave all 7) and how many days back to look.
2. Narrow it down: **minimum job value** (e.g. 50000), **keywords** (`roof`, `solar`, `pool`, `HVAC`, `demolition`, `new construction`), **exclude keywords**, **permit type**, or **only permits with a named contractor**.
3. **Schedule it daily**. With *Only permits I haven't received before* on, each run returns just the new ones. Use one *Monitor name* per saved search.
4. Export to CSV/Excel, or push to Google Sheets, Zapier, Make or your CRM.

### Pricing

**$3 per 1,000 permits returned** ($0.003 each). You pay only for permits in your results, so a quiet day costs almost nothing. Set a maximum cost per run and the Actor stops cleanly when it's reached.

### Notes

- Cities publish on their own schedule, often with a 1-3 day delay. A 7-day look-back with *only new* switched on catches late uploads without repeats.
- If one city's portal is down, the other cities still return results.
- Data comes from official city open-data portals (Socrata). All records are public.

**Need another city?** Open an issue with the city name. Cities with a daily-updated open-data permit feed can be added quickly.

# Actor input Schema

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

Leave empty for all 7 cities.

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

How far back to look (1-90). Some cities publish with a 1-3 day delay.

## `minValue` (type: `integer`):

Only permits with a reported job value at or above this amount. 0 = no minimum.

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

Keep permits whose description or type contains any of these, e.g. roof, solar, pool, HVAC, demolition, new construction.

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

Drop permits whose description or type contains any of these.

## `permitTypes` (type: `array`):

Optional: match on permit type / work class text, e.g. Electrical, Plumbing, New Building.

## `onlyWithContractor` (type: `boolean`):

Skip permits where the city did not publish a contractor name.

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

Remembers permits returned on earlier runs (per monitor name) so a daily schedule gives you only fresh leads.

## `monitorName` (type: `string`):

Use a different name for each saved search so their memories stay separate.

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

Maximum permits to return (and be charged for) per run.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "cities": [
    "Chicago",
    "New York City",
    "Los Angeles",
    "Austin",
    "Seattle",
    "New Orleans",
    "Baton Rouge"
  ],
  "issuedWithinDays": 7,
  "minValue": 0,
  "onlyWithContractor": false,
  "onlyNew": true,
  "monitorName": "default",
  "maxResults": 200
}
```

# 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 City",
        "Los Angeles",
        "Austin",
        "Seattle",
        "New Orleans",
        "Baton Rouge"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("real_mccoy/building-permits-feed").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 City",
        "Los Angeles",
        "Austin",
        "Seattle",
        "New Orleans",
        "Baton Rouge",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("real_mccoy/building-permits-feed").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 City",
    "Los Angeles",
    "Austin",
    "Seattle",
    "New Orleans",
    "Baton Rouge"
  ]
}' |
apify call real_mccoy/building-permits-feed --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/AB6smy9u2cpQlZPNt/builds/WrbtB11DMFkSi1PTt/openapi.json