A Perth legal centre that provides free advice over the phone for people in debt says calls have almost doubled in the past month, as the local economy continues to adjust to the post-mining boom.

"In the last month we have had 434 calls, which is 100 to 200 more calls than normal," Gemma Mitchell, from Consumer Credit Legal Service WA, told 720 ABC Perth.

"What we have seen over the last six months is that people are calling up more about home loan and mortgage stress."

Many of the callers have lost well-paid jobs in the mining industry and are struggling to service home, car and credit card debt they took on during the boom.

Staff at the centre generally advise callers on how they can apply for a short-term hardship consideration from their bank.

"It's a temporary measure to allow people to get on their feet," Ms Mitchell said.

"It's normally given by the lenders for a period of up to three months and it's a moratorium on payments."

Banks less lenient

At the end of the three months people can apply for an extension, but even a brief reprieve may becoming harder to get.

"What we are seeing with the calls we are getting is that lenders are less likely to grant a first period of hardship. They're really tightening up on it," Ms Mitchell said.

If a bank starts repossession proceedings without approving a hardship application, clients can take up the matter with the Financial Ombudsman Service which will temporarily put a stay on any court action.

More people are calling for advice on home loan defaults and bank repossession. ( ABC )

"[But] if those options have been exhausted, there is very little in terms of legal advice that we can provide," Ms Mitchell said.

"The lender is entitled to recover their debt."

Sold and still in debt

Even when a bank has repossessed a house and put it up for sale, that may not be the end of it.

Average house prices in Perth have fallen by around 8 per cent and rental vacancy rates are at record highs.

"When a house does get repossessed or it is surrendered, it is taking a lot longer for the bank to sell it, so that debt is increasing," Ms Mitchell said.

"We are seeing an increase in calls about shortfall debts, where the property is being sold for less than the actual debt."

Desperate measures

Ms Mitchell said the stress the callers were under was huge and some were getting into trouble with things like payday loans.

"When we do give advice to people they are generally in a heightened state of stress and it's hard for them to take in the information that we give them over the phone," she said.

"If people call us and they are in the position where they are facing repossession, it is not very easy to hear the advice that there is no legal defence.

"No-one wants to hear that.

"What we find then is that people then do their own internet searches and they are quite desperate and they end up giving their last few thousand dollars to businesses who promise that they can stop these repossessions."

She said some callers were using high-interest payday loans or credit cards to buy the essentials like groceries and utilities, compounding their financial problems.

"This last three months we had nearly 300 calls [about consumer credit]; in the same three months last year it was 180 calls," she said.