With housing affordability a huge concern for many Sydney residents, one organisation is offering low- to middle-income earners the opportunity to live more cheaply in smaller spaces.

Evolve Housing's initiative has already seen single people and couples making the switch to one-bedroom, one-bathroom places that are close to work but do not hurt the hip pocket.

But can people actually live in a tiny apartment? The ABC took a tour inside one to see what it would be like.

Living tiny

A lot has been packed into the 20sq/m double room apartment. ( ABC News: Lawrence Champness )

The apartment building on Parramatta Road at Camperdown includes spaces from 12–16 square metres for singles, to 25m2doubles for singles and couples, excluding the kitchen and bathroom areas.

Stepping into a 20m2 double room, which is available for $300 per week including utilities and designed for someone with a disability, it is surprising to see how much has been packed into the micro apartment.

There is a clear space for the kitchenette, a bathroom and a bed — but is it worth the $250-$300 price tag?

The chief executive of not-for-profit organisation Evolve Housing, Andrea Galloway, said based on all the inclusions, it was.

"It includes … electricity, as you see it comes fully equipped — so you've got the fridge, you've got the TV, you've got all the cooking environment, even the utensils. If you work backwards, it is quite a reasonable cost," she said.

What's it like to live in a small space?

Rachel Barabas, 25, has lived in a micro apartment in Camperdown since November last year.

"This is really everything I need for someone that's living by herself. At my previous place in Sydney, at Glebe, the rent was through the roof and didn't include utilities," she told the ABC.

The shared common room inside a mico apartment building in Sydney. ( ABC News: Lawrence Champness )

After a few of her roommates moved out, Ms Barabas was faced with having to find alternative and affordable accommodation.

"This place is perfect, it's got everything I need for one person. Tiny girl, tiny apartment. It's convenient," she said.

"Some people might find it a little bit cramped, but I really don't mind it. It's fully furnished, so it saves me a bit of money.

"My parents haven't actually seen my apartment except for the photos I've taken. They like that it's affordable and that bills are included, like gas and electricity. They are happy as long as I'm in a comfortable environment.

"There is CCTV and, especially as a young woman in Sydney by myself, they wanted to make sure I was in a safe location."

Ms Barabas said everyone in the building was "really polite" and "really chilled".

"The only other thing I was worried about was the fold-down bed. I was worried that it might bounce up in the middle of the night and give me a concussion, but it's all good and I haven't fallen off of it!"

Ms Galloway said the apartments were "very liveable", with some tenants having lived in the building since 2013.

"It's a great spot and that's the key to affordability, is being close to where you work and having the amenities," she said.

A common room is also available to residents who might like a bit more space.

The trick to affordable rentals

The micro apartment building on Parramatta Road at Camperdown. ( ABC News: Lawrence Champness )

The whole point of the initiative is to make affordable housing available to lower-income earners, so the micro apartments are only on offer to those under a certain income threshold.

"The income levels are very important. You can enter around $48,000 and you can earn up to $144,000 if you are [an existing tenant] married with [three] kids," Ms Galloway said.

"We assess everyone's individual income on an annual basis, and they have to provide us with payslips and all those kinds of things. We assess them quite accurately, it's not like you're in here and that's forever.

"The key is that these are key workers, so they have to be able to live close to where they work to create that diverse community.

"It is obviously not for everyone, but it does offer those with smaller incomes the chance to live in the CBD at a lower cost."

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