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.

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