Lawyers and Courts Brace for Eviction Storm in Galveston County
If the flood of evictions Leslie Burgoyne expected after a coronavirus-related moratorium expired isn’t here yet, her current caseload will keep her busy enough until it arrives.
“I’ve gotten quite a few intakes this week, but it mostly seems to be people that were behind on rent when the pandemic started. It hasn’t yet been that wave I was expecting, but I think that wave will come next week or the week after,” said Burgoyne, managing attorney at Lone Star Legal Aid’s Galveston office.
The state-imposed moratorium on evictions for those behind on rent payments because of the COVID-19 shutdown officially ended May 18, a brief respite for those who lost jobs or work hours because of the pandemic.
Since then, both Burgoyne and several county constable offices have seen an uptick of cases — mostly landlords catching up on delayed cases — but nowhere near the avalanche, some expected.