Terms of Service

1. About TradeHound

TradeHound (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a permit intelligence platform that aggregates publicly available municipal building permit data and makes it searchable for contractors. By using tradehound.ca or any TradeHound service, you agree to these Terms of Service.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and using TradeHound for legitimate business purposes. By creating an account you confirm that the information you provide is accurate and that you are authorized to enter into this agreement on behalf of yourself or your business.

3. Free and Paid Plans

TradeHound offers a free tier with limited access and a paid Pro subscription at $99 CAD/month that unlocks full street addresses, daily email digests, and all trade filters.

• Free trial: New subscribers receive a 14-day free trial. No credit card is required to start a trial.
• Billing: After the trial, your credit card is charged monthly. All prices are in Canadian dollars (CAD) plus applicable taxes.
• Cancellation:You may cancel at any time from Account → Membership. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period — no partial refunds are issued.
• Refunds: We offer a full refund within 7 days of your first charge if the service does not meet your expectations. Contact [email protected].

4. Permit Data — Accuracy and Limitations

All permit data displayed on TradeHound is sourced from publicly available municipal open data portals (City of Toronto, City of Calgary, City of Edmonton, City of Vancouver, and others). We normalize and republish this data as-is.

• We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of permit data. Municipalities may update, correct, or remove records at any time.
• Permit data is for lead generation purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, zoning guidance, or confirmation that a permit has been officially issued.
• Contact the relevant municipality directly to verify permit status before relying on it for any business decision.

5. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Scrape, bulk-download, or systematically copy permit data from TradeHound
• Use permit data to harass, spam, or contact homeowners without their consent
• Resell or redistribute TradeHound data to third parties
• Circumvent any access controls, paywalls, or rate limits
• Use the platform in a way that violates Canadian anti-spam legislation (CASL)

We reserve the right to terminate accounts that violate these rules without refund.

6. Direct Mail (Postcard Service)

Paid subscribers may send physical postcards to permit addresses via our integrated direct mail service (powered by Lob.com). By using this feature:

• You confirm that your postcard content complies with CASL and all applicable marketing laws.
• You are solely responsible for the content of postcards you send.
• Postcard sending fees are charged per card and are non-refundable once a card enters production.

7. Intellectual Property

The TradeHound platform, brand, design, and software are our property. Permit data is sourced from public government datasets and remains the property of the respective municipalities under their open data licenses (typically Open Government Licence — Canada). You may use permit data for your own business lead generation but may not repackage or resell it.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

TradeHound is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not guarantee uninterrupted access, that the data will be free of errors, or that using permit leads will result in business for you. Contractor lead generation involves inherent uncertainty.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, TradeHound's total liability for any claim arising out of these terms or your use of the service shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the 3 months preceding the claim.

10. Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Alberta and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. Any disputes shall be resolved in the courts of Alberta, Canada.

11. Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email to your registered address at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of the service after that date constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

12. Contact

Questions about these terms? [email protected]