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New state housing office launches with technical assistance focus, promises model codes by year’s end
Summary
The Housing Accountability and Production Office (HAPO) described its role in providing technical and financial assistance to cities and developers, handling intake since July 1, 2025, and said it will publish model code and permit‑ready plans by the end of the year to help local governments comply with state housing laws.
The House Interim Committee on Housing and Homelessness heard an update Sept. 29 from the Housing Accountability and Production Office, a joint office of the Department of Land Conservation and Development and the Building Codes division. Joel Mattson, manager of HAPO, told the committee the office’s “purpose is to support housing developers and cities in boosting housing production across the state” and that enforcement remains “our last resort.”
Mattson said HAPO began taking inquiries in its current form on July 1 and has logged requests across categories — building codes, land use planning, land division and state program navigation — with building-code inquiries largest so far. He described two primary tools: technical assistance to help jurisdictions update local land use codes and financial support to fund local code work.
The office plans to publish a model code by the end of the year intended to help cities comply with recently passed bills, and to offer “permit-ready plans” that communities and developers can use to streamline approvals. Mattson said the model code will include provisions aimed at making accessory dwelling units and multiplexes easier to site and permit.
Committee members asked whether HAPO had seen requests to convert vacant office buildings to housing or whether cities had resistance from building-code officials. Mattson said HAPO had not received notable requests specifically about office conversions but offered to follow up with the Building Codes division.
The update framed HAPO as a customer‑service and technical assistance office intended to reduce local confusion about state housing laws and speed approvals where possible. The office said it received one active formal housing-law complaint and that, otherwise, it intends to use enforcement sparingly while prioritizing collaboration and guidance.
The committee did not take any formal action on the presentation. Staff said they will return with additional updates as HAPO continues intake and publishes its model code guidance.
