Urban Permit

Inspiration

EU construction permitting costs €60B/year in delays and rejections — not from bad projects, but a broken system. Urban Permit was built on the belief that AI can bring clarity and speed to a process that desperately needs both.

What it does

An AI platform that reads technical project files, checks regulatory compliance, flags issues with specific rule references, and predicts approval likelihood — before submission.

How we built it

Document parsing + LLMs fine-tuned on regulatory frameworks, mapped against a structured knowledge base. Stack: AI extraction pipeline, rule-based + LLM compliance engine, and a clean review interface.

Challenges we ran into

Regulations vary by municipality and change frequently. Real-world documents are messy — scanned PDFs, inconsistent formatting, missing metadata. Both required significant iteration.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Working compliance pipeline on real construction docs, Portuguese + EU regulatory knowledge base, and a clear value proposition in a €60B market with no dominant AI-native player.

What we learned

The hardest part isn't the AI — it's trust. The product must be explainable and auditable. And the permitting problem is as cultural as it is technical.

What's next for Urban Permit

EU municipal expansion, direct integration with submission portals (one-click submit), pilot with Portuguese architecture firms, and a future where permits are predictable — not a gamble.

Built With

• claude