ADU builders

Igni for ADU Builders — Fresh ADU Permit Leads

ADU builder leads from official open-data feeds: typed ADU classification, SB-9/SB-10 flags and sub-24h freshness across 60 US cities.

If you build accessory dwelling units, your best leads aren't a purchased list — they're the homeowners who just filed for an ADU permit. A permit application is a documented commitment: the owner has engaged the building department and, in most cases, already has a design and a budget in mind. The builder who reaches that owner first, while the project is still being scoped, has a structural advantage over everyone who finds out months later.

The catch is that this signal is scattered across hundreds of city and county systems in wildly different formats, and it goes stale fast. Igni turns that scattered public record into a clean, current stream of ADU activity — typed by ADU subtype and filterable down to the projects you actually take on. See how it works in our complete ADU permit guide.

The problem

Homeowners who just filed for an ADU are the warmest leads you can get, but the permit record surfaces through slow channels weeks or months too late.
Permit data lives in a different format in every city, so monitoring even a few markets by hand is a daily slog of portals, exports and date formats.
Most permit feeds don't distinguish a detached ADU from a garage conversion or a reroof — you waste time reading raw work descriptions.
In California, SB-9 lot splits and by-right duplexes open new ADU opportunities, but spotting eligible parcels early is hard without a flag.

Typed ADU classification, not a raw permit dump

A firehose of every building permit is not a lead list. Igni applies a typed ADU classification — detached, attached, junior ADU, conversion, or unknown — inferred from each jurisdiction's structured flags and free-text work descriptions, so you can target the exact kind of unit you build instead of reading raw permit text city by city.

That typing is the difference between a usable pipeline and noise. A detached-ADU specialist can focus on detached filings; a garage-conversion crew can focus on conversions. For the vocabulary behind the classification, see the glossary entries for an ADU and a junior ADU.

Sub-24h freshness so you're the first call

Timing beats almost everything else in the ADU business. The window between a permit filing and the point at which the owner locks in a builder is often short, so reaching out while the record is fresh is the difference between a warm conversation and a closed door.

Igni ingests permit records directly from official municipal open-data portals on a continuous schedule and surfaces new permits with sub-24-hour freshness where the source supports it — across 60 cities in 37 US states. Instead of discovering a project after the owner has already signed someone, you see it the day it posts. Our blog post on finding ADU permit leads walks through the timing advantage in detail.

Filter down to the ADUs you actually want

Useful targeting is what makes permit data a lead source rather than a spreadsheet. Igni lets you narrow by ADU type, project valuation, ZIP code or city, owner-builder status, and permit status — and, for California, by SB-9 eligibility and SB-10 corridor flags so you can spot early activity where lot splits or by-right duplexes may be in play.

Stack those filters to match exactly the projects you take on: for example, detached ADUs above a certain valuation in a specific set of ZIP codes. You can preview live activity in the permit dashboard before committing to anything.

Sourced from official open data — verifiable, not scraped lists

Every record Igni surfaces traces back to a city's own open-data portal, so the underlying data is a public record you can stand behind. We normalize records from dozens of different systems into one consistent schema — consistent dates, standardized statuses, recovered ZIP codes — but the source is always the official municipal feed.

Igni is contact-driven during its pilot: there's no public self-serve checkout yet. To see ADU coverage in your markets and get access, tell us which cities and project types you focus on. Explore where the data lives on our state coverage hub, including a detailed view of California permit data.

The filters that matter for you

ADU type (detached / attached / junior / conversion)SB-9 eligibility (California)SB-10 corridor (California)Project valuationZIP code & cityOwner-builder status

Frequently asked questions

How does Igni know which permits are ADUs?

Igni applies a typed ADU classification — detached, attached, junior ADU, conversion, or unknown — inferred from each jurisdiction's structured flags and free-text work descriptions. Where a city publishes a native ADU subtype, that drives the classification; otherwise it is inferred from the work description.

How fresh are the ADU permit leads?

It depends on how often the source jurisdiction updates and how often Igni ingests. Igni runs on a continuous schedule and surfaces new permits with sub-24-hour freshness where the source portal supports it, across 60 cities in 37 US states.

Can I filter to only the ADU types I build?

Yes. You can filter by ADU type, city and ZIP, project valuation, owner-builder status, permit status, and — in California — SB-9 and SB-10 flags. Stacking these filters lets you target the specific units and locations you work in.

How do I get access?

Igni is contact-driven during its pilot, with no public self-serve checkout. Request access through the contact form and tell us which cities and ADU types you focus on, and we'll discuss coverage and fit.

See coverage in your markets

Igni is contact-driven during its pilot. Tell us which cities and project types you focus on, and we'll show you the coverage and fit.

Request access Browse coverage