Moving house seven times in 18 months the reality for many renters

Frances Thiele has moved seven times in the past 18 months.

Bouncing between share houses, the 61-year-old disability support worker has struggled to find an affordable rental in the regional city of Albany, about 450 kilometres south of Perth.

"There just isn't anything," she said.

"The cheapest place I found for one person was $500, and that's half of my week's wages."

In Western Australia, rent inflation is at record levels, with new research from Anglicare showing essential workers are essentially locked out of the private rental market.

Just one property across WA's two most populous regions, the Great Southern and South West, was within budget for key workers in health and childcare sectors, according to the charity's annual rental affordability snapshot.

Ms Thiele's precarious housing situation comes despite working full time.

"The job I do doesn't make money from people — it's not a job that'll ever be highly paid," she said.

Rising costs have forced her into shared housing, where she splits $850 a week in rent with a housemate.

"It's easier to get a big house because these are hard to rent out as no-one can afford them," she said.

"With two wages, it just makes it much cheaper for us."

No room to grow in the Pilbara

Further north in WA's Pilbara, employers say they are now forced to compete with mining and energy giants to find staff somewhere to live.

Clark Smith runs a small mechanical workshop in Karratha, 1,530 kilometres north of Perth and said accommodation shortages were stopping his business from growing.

"I could put three guys on tomorrow and not even make a dent in the work we've got," he said.

Mr Smith used any available option to house workers.

"I've put people in mates' houses … we've had people staying at the yard in caravans," he said.

"I've had staff houses, three or four guys in it, which at the end of the day, living and working together is not healthy either."

Karratha has been Mr Smith's home for 17 years and accommodation had always been a challenge.

"We lived in a van with no air con through a couple of months of the summer, wherever you could get," he said.

"In five years, we lived in 10 different houses."

Small businesses struggle to compete

Many roles offered in Karratha included housing and a car, something small business owners found difficult to match.

"All of them know that, at the drop of a hat tomorrow, they could go work for a company and earn twice as much and have a roof over their head," Mr Smith said.

"I can't compete; it's physically impossible to compete."

One employee of Mr Smith's was living in affordable housing, as part of a scheme supported by the City of Karratha and industry partners.

Mr Smith said the scheme was helpful, but it came with limitations.

"You're only allowed one per business, and if she gets a pay rise, they get kicked out of their housing because you have to earn under [a certain] amount," he said.

Other employees have had to move between houses or relied on relatives to stay in Karratha.

"I've got a 22-year-old who still lives at home … he doesn't have a choice," Mr Smith said.

"It's very hard to make this place a home because of the accommodation situation."