Hot job leads · Gilroy

Gilroy for working pros: license, GO Permit and the houses

Gilroy's building permit list names jobs that look routine: window and sliding door replacements, shower and tub enclosure swaps, landscape irrigation, and any roof repair over 100 square feet, all filed through the city's GO Permit portal. Contractors pay a flat business license fee by the year, or by the half-year if they are based out of town. Seven homes in ten are detached houses, and almost a fifth went up between 2000 and 2009.

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New job: TV Mounting in Downtown, Gilroy. See the job and the price before you pay: thehandymansflive.com/l/…

New job: Doors & Windows near Morgan Hill. Open the link to see it.

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Business license
Through HdL; contractor licenses due each July 1
Source: cityofgilroy.org: Comprehensive Fee Schedule Effective July 1 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Window replacement
Needs a building permit, filed in GO Permit
Source: cityofgilroy.org: Building Division (opens in a new tab)
Median home built
1990 (Census ACS 2019-2023)
Source: data.census.gov: ACSDT5Y2023 (opens in a new tab)
Construction hours
Weekdays 7-7, Saturdays 9-7, never Sundays
Source: cityofgilroy.org: 2004 15 HOUR OF CONSTRUCTION (opens in a new tab)

Working legally here

Gilroy's business license, handled by HdL

Gilroy wants a city business license from every business, inside or outside the city, that does business within city limits, and its brochure names out-of-town contractors and construction companies. HdL Companies runs the program: you apply, renew, pay and update online through the city's HdL portal, then an invoice comes by email. HdL also does compliance and discovery work, finding businesses that should be registered and are not. For contractors and subcontractors the fee schedule sets a flat annual license, with a semi-annual option for contractors from outside Gilroy, instead of the gross-receipts scale used for shops with a fixed location. Working from a Gilroy home adds a one-time Home Occupation Permit from the Planning Division. The license does not transfer: a new name, owner or location means a new application.

City of Gilroy, Finance (opens in a new tab)

Permits

Gilroy permits for handyman-scale work

  • The GO Permit list is longer than it looks

    Since June 19, 2023, Gilroy has issued permits through GO Permit, its online portal for applications, plan review status and inspections. The Building Division's list of work that needs a permit includes window replacements, sliding doors, shower and tub enclosure replacements, furnace and water heater replacements, landscape irrigation, skylights and fences over 7 feet. Wood fences 7 feet or lower need no building permit, but front and side yard fences can still meet Planning and Engineering height and setback rules, and the Planning Division asks to be contacted before anyone paints a building's exterior.

    City of Gilroy, Building Division (opens in a new tab)

  • Roof repairs over 100 square feet

    Gilroy's re-roof handout requires a permit for any roof repair over 100 square feet and for overlays, which are allowed over one existing layer only, after a pre-roof inspection. A contractor pulling the permit shows a current C-39 license, workers' compensation coverage and a current City of Gilroy business license. Inspections are booked in GO Permit and usually come within 72 hours, in a morning or an afternoon window, and the inspector expects an extension ladder tied to the building, rated for at least 300 pounds and reaching 3 rungs above the roof. In the Residential Hillside zone the Fire Marshal may also require fire- and ember-safe vents.

    City of Gilroy, Building Division (opens in a new tab)

The homes

Gilroy's housing stock in Census figures

The 2019-2023 American Community Survey puts Gilroy at 17,732 housing units, with a median year built of 1990. Detached single-family houses make up 70.9% of all units, and owners occupy 62.8% of occupied homes. The busiest building decade was 2000 to 2009, with 19.3% of today's stock, followed by the 1970s at 16.0%, while only 4.5% predates 1940. For a pro that points to mostly whole-house jobs on detached homes, and to a large group of houses now 16 to 26 years old, past the life of many original water heaters, faucets and light fixtures.

U.S. Census Bureau (opens in a new tab)
Gilroy's original City Hall, built in 1905, on Monterey Street
Gilroy's original City Hall, built in 1905, on Monterey Street. Photo: Sanfranman59, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Part by part

Gilroy districts and what their homes need

  • Glen Loma Ranch

    A 359-acre specific plan area in the western foothills between Santa Teresa Boulevard and Uvas Creek, approved in 2005 and still filling in: tentative map TM 24-03 proposes the Canyon Creek, Rocky Knoll and Malvasia II neighborhoods, with private open space kept by the homeowners' association. New houses mean move-in mounting and setup, and the association's rules come first for anything outdoors.

  • Hecker Pass

    About 423 acres along Hecker Pass Highway, planned in 2005 to keep the area's farmland alongside new housing. The specific plan has been amended four times, and fencing was one of the subjects, so a fence job here starts with the plan's own standards rather than only the citywide height rules.

  • Downtown

    The Downtown Gilroy Specific Plan, adopted on November 21, 2005, aims to keep the historical integrity of building designs and treats paseos and plazas as key parts of the pedestrian fabric. The city publishes design guidelines with it, so read them before exterior work on a downtown building.

Getting around

Gilroy hours, roads and the building counter

City Code section 16.38 limits construction, including deliveries and moving materials around a site, to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays, with none on Sundays or six city holidays. Breaking it is a misdemeanor, and a contractor who lets a worker break it is liable too; the chief building official can approve night work when the permit is issued. Gilroy sits where U.S. 101, running north-south through the city, meets SR 152, a mostly east-west route. The Building Division at 7351 Rosanna Street lists its hours as Monday to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

How hot leads work

From the first text to the homeowner's door

  1. Confirm your mobile

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  2. A text for each new job

    It names the trade and the area, with a link to the job. Texts go out from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

  3. See it before you pay

    The link shows the job and the price. Skip any job you do not want.

  4. Pay, then call the homeowner

    After you pay you get the homeowner's name, number and address. Price and timing are between you.

Questions

Working in Gilroy: what pros ask

Does a contractor based in Morgan Hill need a Gilroy business license for one job?

Yes. Gilroy's brochure says any business conducting operations inside city limits should get a license, and it names out-of-town contractors and construction companies; working without one can bring citations and fines. Apply through the city's HdL portal and the invoice arrives by email. A contractor based outside Gilroy can choose a semi-annual license instead of the annual one.

Do I need a permit to replace windows or a sliding door in Gilroy?

Yes. Both are on the Building Division's list of work that needs a permit, along with shower and tub enclosure replacements, skylights and water heaters. Apply through GO Permit, which also tracks plan review and books the inspections. Interior painting, papering and similar finish work need no building permit, though the Planning Division wants a call before exterior painting.

Can I patch a small roof leak in Gilroy without a permit?

The re-roof handout requires a permit only once a repair passes 100 square feet, and for any overlay. An overlay can go over one existing layer only, after a pre-roof inspection. In the Residential Hillside zone on the west and southwest sides of the city, even a repair must use Class A rated roofing, so check the zoning map before buying material.

Can my crew work on a Sunday in Gilroy?

No. Section 16.38 bars construction on Sundays and six city holidays and limits Saturdays to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Sunday window in the same section, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., covers only residents doing improvement or maintenance on their own homes. A violation is a misdemeanor, each day counts separately, and a contractor who permits a worker to break the rule is liable as well.

Will the hot list send me only Gilroy jobs?

It is not set up that way. Every new job is texted as it goes on sale, wherever it is, and each text gives the trade and the area plus a link, so you can pass on the ones that are too far. The link shows the job and its price before you pay, you pay only for jobs you take, there is no subscription, bidding or commission, and STOP ends it.

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Where this page belongs

Where these facts come from

Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and fees change: confirm license and permit requirements with the city before work starts.

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