Lafayette to Relocate Himbola Manor Residents as Conditions Worsen
LAFAYETTE, La. — City leaders told the Lafayette City Council this week that conditions at Himbola Manor Apartments have deteriorated since the complex first drew code inspectors in 2024, and now the city is moving to get residents out altogether. Lafayette Consolidated Government is coordinating with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Lafayette Housing Authority to relocate tenants using housing protection vouchers, a process officials expect to take three to six months.
Past city and federal records have called the property, on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, a 136-unit complex. Officials now put the total at 147 units, with roughly 80 currently occupied. It’s a Section 8-subsidized development, meaning most residents rely on federal rental assistance and have limited options if they’re forced to leave on short notice.
What officials told the council
LCG Chief Administrative Officer Rachel Godeaux walked the council through the latest findings, and the picture wasn’t good. “What we found in the most recent inspection that was performed is that the conditions have not improved,” Godeaux said. “They have actually worsened from the original inspection that was performed in 2024.”
Mayor-President Monique Boulet didn’t soften it either. “The conditions are not livable,” Boulet said. “The conditions are not something you would stay in.”
Councilman Kenneth Boudreaux raised the bind residents have been stuck in for years: repeated promises of repairs that never fully materialize, leaving families to decide whether to keep waiting or find somewhere else to go with few affordable options in Lafayette.
How the relocation is supposed to work
City officials say getting people out safely comes before any decision about the buildings themselves. Godeaux said structural action, including likely condemnation, will follow once tenants are housed elsewhere. “There are buildings that are probably going to be condemned and will probably move to demolish at an appropriate timeframe,” she said. “Again, our goal is to ensure that all tenants have options with their vouchers and relocation assistance before we ever step in to do any kind of condemnation or demolition on the property.”
That sequencing matters for residents who’ve spent years documenting mold, leaking roofs, and plumbing backups only to be told to wait for the next repair cycle. This time, the plan is to move people first.
A paper trail of violations going back to 2024
LCG’s Community Development and Planning Department first flagged more than 130 code violations at Himbola Manor in the summer of 2024, including mold, leaking roofs, pest problems, and units without working smoke detectors. That August, HUD notified the nonprofit owner that it was in default of its Section 8 contract and ordered a corrective plan.
An administrative law judge fined the owner, American Agape Foundation, a San Antonio-based nonprofit, more than $32,000 that fall for uncorrected violations and gave the company until Jan. 31, 2025, to finish repairs before daily fines would kick in. They didn’t finish. By May 2025, 39 violations still hadn’t been fixed, and the nonprofit had racked up nearly $42,000 in additional fines on top of what it already paid.
Foresight Asset Management has handled day-to-day operations for the property. Attorneys for the owner have previously pointed to mold and plumbing testing delays as part of the holdup. More than a year later, city officials say the same plumbing and roofing problems are still unresolved.
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