Living conditions "unacceptable" at Himbola Manor Apartment, say residents

• Tenants of Himbola Manor Apartments
• Residents of Himbola Manor Apartments say the living conditions there are unacceptable.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Riley Green has been living at Himbola Manor for 19 years. For nearly two decades, he says, he watched as the apartment deteriorated.

“The ceilings are caving in, they got mold in the apartment, they got trash on the property, it’s not kept up,” said Green as he described the conditions on the property.

Green is not the only one with a concern. One by one, tenants expressed their frustration about the upkeep of the apartment complex.

While many of them were afraid of showing their faces on camera for fear of eviction by property managers, the tenants were not shy about speaking their mind.

An elderly woman described damage at her unit. “The hallway started leaking and one day as I came out the bathroom and as I turned the corner, the roof just came down,” said the tenant.

Residents at Himbola Manor say they have complained about the conditions of the residential complex. Some showed photos of rusted plumbing, water pockets in the ceiling, and cracks on their walls.

One tenant said there was no running water in her sister’s unit. “She can’t take a bath or use the bathroom, she has to go to our grandmother’s house,” the woman explained.

It’s not the first time the apartment has been the subject of controversy. Records show that in 2017, Himbola Manor LLC and its parent company was sued after a ceiling tile fell on a tenant injuring them. The lawsuit alleged that Himbola Manor, “failed to keep the premises free of hazardous conditions.” It was settled out of court.

Calls and emails to Lafayette City Zoning officials regarding Himbola Manor Apartment went unanswered up to broadcast time.

Elroy Broussard, Lafayette City Council representative for District 1 says residents should not have to live in those conditions. He’s hosting a public meeting to address the concerns on Thursday July 18, 20254 at the MLK Recreation Center (Dorsey Park, 309 Cora St) in Lafayette Parish.