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Abstract
This thesis is an investigation into the development and occupancy of micro-apartments
in Sydney, Australia. Micro-apartments are small, single-room, self-contained
apartments sized between 24.5m2 and 28m2, which notionally compromise on total floor
space in exchange for greater locational amenity and affordability. In Sydney, interest in
micro-apartments amongst the development industry, politicians and media has
increased recently in response to societal concerns regarding housing affordability. This
interest has been informed by international micro-apartment examples and has focused
on the need to adjust prevailing amenity standards to deliver smaller apartments,
without acknowledging the existence of the current micro-apartment policy framework.
At present, micro-apartments can be developed across New South Wales in a highly
constrained development model facilitated by State Environmental Planning Policy
(Affordable Rental Housing) 2009. These micro-apartments are exempt from the statewide
residential amenity standards prescribed by the Apartment Design Guide.
While micro-apartments are being built in Sydney, there is a notable absence of empirical
research as to whether these dwellings provide genuinely affordable and suitable
housing outcomes, making research on the topic both timely and necessary. Drawing
on the perspectives of micro-apartments occupants and industry stakeholders, the
research has found that the existing micro-apartments model increases the supply of
small apartments in Sydney. The dwellings being produced have, however,
compromised functionality and amenity due to their size, and do not provide clear
affordability benefits to occupants.