The co-living trend — in which renters lease sleeping quarters that are often tiny, and share common living space with roommates — now has the city’s official backing.

On Thursday, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development is expected to announce a pilot program that will allow developers to vie for public financing to create a more affordable version of the dorm-style living arrangement that has emerged in some of the city’s priciest neighborhoods. Much of what already exists is at or above market rate, with some buildings offering additional amenities to residents.

The city’s pilot, called ShareNYC, will seek proposals for private development sites that favor mostly income-restricted units, including those for very low-income renters. The units will vary in design, but will likely run between 150 and 400 square feet per bedroom, may or may not have private bathrooms, and will include a common kitchen and living space that is shared with other roommates, according to a briefing on the program and an agency official. A mix of conventional and market-rate units will also be considered.

The deadline for submissions is March 14, 2019.

Versions of this kind of housing have already sprung up around the city, but restrictions on the maximum number of unrelated roommates (up to three), and constraints on most ground-up construction in this category, sometimes called “single-room occupancy,” or S.R.O., have limited what developers can build.