4000 Prytania

3936 Prytania

1. Queen Says:
   January 6th, 2007 at 6:00 pm

   I am a young mother that was deperately seeking an apartment. I signed a lease with HR Prytania LLC. at 1202 Marengo Street. After going to the apartment the day after I was promised a “brand” new apartment I visited the apartment. I was informed by a neighbor that it hadn’t been inhabited in the year the family lived there and their were complaints about rats and mold. For fear of my family’s safety I asked to terminate the agreement I responded in 24 hours. I gave in good faith $1000 security deposit that is totally unrefundable and I cannot move it until February 1st. I am sick with cancer and I have 3 children that I take care of. The owners responded that they didn’t care about my children and I am liable to this property. I am so distraught and helpless. All I was trying to do is to provide a place for me and the children to stay safely and now I have no money to get them back in school. All I can do now is stay in the petrified cage that I was misled to lease out of desperation and hope. I hope no one else has to deal with these monsters. I lost my house, job, and mind after Katrina. I have been on disability for over a year because I am manic depressive. So this experience has brought me down so low, I don’t know if I can recover. I know that my hands are tied so this is just to protect anyone else.

2. James Smoak Says:
   January 8th, 2007 at 12:18 am

   Queen - You are not the only one experiencing Howard Russell deceptions. The neighborhood has confronted Russell with unkempt properties at 4000 Prytania and other locations not maintained. Reports have been made to the Sanitation Department, Health Department, and others much to no avail. You should add your voice to reports to these deparments about your experience. Thank you for exposing yet another example of exploitation of renters like you by opportunistic and uncaring landlords like Russell.

3. Loki Says:
   January 14th, 2007 at 12:00 pm

   I used to live next door to one of the properties pictured and for two years I heard nothing but comlaints from the residents about the state of the buildings and the constant refrain of “DO NOT rent from these people, they are the worst of the slumlords.”

   Having been inside them before the storm I can attest that the quality of life in these units is decidedly substandard. Even then there was a pervasive dampness, moist ccarpets,rats, and mountains of garbage.

   Foul and reprehensible are the words that most readily come to mind.

4. Chris Reade Says:
   January 30th, 2007 at 6:22 am

   I am interested in what legal action we can take againt Howard Russell. H R Prytania LLC is the company that owns the property. I would welcome any advice on what suits can be brought against him and his land holding company - I have had it with driving past his crap-strewn property at 400 Prytania.

5. AC Says:
   February 1st, 2007 at 4:16 am

   I rented from Laura and Howard Russell a few years ago at one of the properties above. From the very beginning I had problems with them. When I went to look at the apartment, she made it seem that she wasn’t the owner and merely a property manager. She promised that multiple improvements would be made, but in the 8 months that I lived there nothing was ever done. I still live in the area and drive by once in a while….it still looks like the same hell hole I was living in. My impression is that they fix these places enough to give the renter a good initial impression, but once you are signed to a lease and have more time to explore you realize that all their improvements are cosmetic. My last bit of ranting has to do with pest problems. Over the summer I was living there, I was killing 4-5 roaches/night. I brought this up with Laura when she wanted me to sign a new lease after my 6 month lease was up. Her reply was that I was going to have this problem no matter where I went because it is New Orleans. Then when I told her that I wanted to go month to month, she told me that she was going to look for someone who would sign a lease. I was given two weeks notice that someone would be moving in.

6. renter Says:
   February 2nd, 2007 at 1:08 am

   I too have been duped by the shifty character Laura Russell. I rented a property under the guise that repairs from storm damage would be made and laundry facilities would be available. These things never happened. I also had numerous things to be fixed…never happened. She promises but doesn’t come through. Don’t get tangled up with HR Prytania or HR Properties, as it is sometimes known.

7. Chris Reade Says:
   February 3rd, 2007 at 4:08 pm

   Do any of you all have any info on what nuisance laws exist that can be brought to bear on these properties - especially the one at 4000 Prytania? The trash is just piled up on the first block of Constantinople every day.

8. Kelly Says:
   February 13th, 2007 at 2:42 pm

   I am a tenant at 3936 Prytania. The discussed party is attempting to evict me instead of make repairs to building. I have a court date on 2/21. If this information is of interest to you please respond by posting.

9. Ronin Says:
   February 16th, 2007 at 2:46 pm

   More info available here.

   http://community.livejournal.com/neworleans/2574139.html

10. Chris Reade Says:
    February 22nd, 2007 at 1:21 am

    I am interested - unfortunately I am just getting to read this today. How did it go?

11. Kristin Says:
    February 26th, 2007 at 1:02 am

    I also live in a Laura Russell property, as a law school student, I know that many of the things they are getting away with are in no way legal. Month after month I attempt to withold my rent until they make necessary and obligatory repairs, and month after month they threaten to evict me if i don’t pay rent. So since august (now february) the exact same broken appliances exist, my exorbanant utility bills due to non working A/C/heating units and leaking gas stoves continue, and my power will go out, leaving all my groceries to rot with no response or repair EVER. It is infuriating to me that legally they are in the wrong, and perhaps if i didnt have a vast amount of law school debt i could take her to court or withold rent (and put it into an escrow account as legally thats what i SHOULD be doing rather then forking it over month after month), however as obviously I do not have the finances to do so, i continue to get screwed over by laura russell and her company. Moving here for school and having no knowledge of laura russell or her reputation i was trapped into this lease, and despite my DAILY numerous phone calls and complaints nothing is ever fixed. Having been shown some of her ‘fabulous’ other properties this weekend, I now feel that at least 7825 St. Charles is one of the better ones she maintains- in the LOOSEST meaning possible– but i STRONGLY caution anyone with the time/effort available to search for housing to stay away from laura russell. I have attempted to report her to the housing authority, but obviously in the current new orleans condition, slumlord run properties are of absolutely no urgency to anyone in the city government.

12. Queen Says:
    February 28th, 2007 at 6:55 pm

    I never moved in the Russell property and they didn’t make any improvements. Laura asked me for an address to mail my deposit back and now she won’t answer the phone after numerous attempts to call and Khristina who showed the property to me and within 24 hours I told her it did not suit my needs and she still hasn’t given me my money. The lease was unsigned. Does anybody know how reach this woman? The numbers I have are 616-3986 and 616-3749

13. Jesse Says:
    May 1st, 2007 at 1:03 pm

    I have been renting from these people since November. My lease ends May 31. I sent a written notice that I will be vacating the property at the end of the lease with the check for my last month’s rent as well as rent for April. Besides the fact that this company consistently takes a month or more to deposit rent checks, I never received any notice that they had gotten the letter from me. I have been try to call Laura on both numbers and well as trying to call Kristina. Neither of them return any phone calls, and have not since I have lived here, but the lease is set to autimatically renew without written notice. I am posting this to have a dated entry so that when these slumlords tell me that I did not give notice to vacate the property I will have yet another piece of proof.
    DO NOT RENT FROM HR PRYTANIA LLC.

14. Justin Says:
    May 6th, 2007 at 9:55 am

    I am glad to hear I’m not the only one who has had some problems with Ms. Laura Hughes. I currently occupy 2 substandard apartments on the first floor. One of them lacks electricity and the other one has a puddle in the kitchen and a hole in the ceiling. I tried to fix the leak in my kitchen with some ceiling tar I found in our utility closet but I wound up making a goopy mess. My place is like the Titanic and I am in steerage. It was weird. One time I went up into the foyer where all the nice apartments are. It was very clean and elegant up there with hard wood floors and little tiles. The first floor is a total crap hole. There is a tire in the hallway, stray cats, and refrigerators everywhere. I forgot to mention the holes in the wall and the leaking pipes and the bare wires and flickering lights. I haven’t quite given up on old Laura yet. This place has a lot of character and there are interesting birds that sing outside my window. Plus I’ve adopted one of those cats. I may stay here until I can buy a place or until this place collapses - whichever comes first.

15. Gayle Says:
    June 24th, 2007 at 9:02 pm

    Howard and Laura Russell own a home in New Orleans at

    4 Everett Place

    It is right behind Rosa Park Place. Perhaps an organized hauling and dumping of the trash from their properties on that front lawn would help as their neighbors would be horrified in this upscale cul du sac.

16. Gayle Says:
    June 24th, 2007 at 9:10 pm

    Also after Katrina these two were seen at the Four Season Hotel in Houston. They could potentially have a corporate apartment in the apartments there. You might try to find them there.

17. RMW Says:
    July 4th, 2007 at 2:40 pm

    My girlfriend and I have had the worst experience with HR Properties. They are slum lords to the ninth degree. I work at an appliance store and can get appliances extremly cheap and I still have a difficult time getting replacement AC units. The properties are poorly maintained, expired inspection dates, hell I can barely get her to come pick up the rent. They have properties under multiple names but all start with HR … Our water is on the verge of being cut off because the bill hasn’t been paid since Katrina. Laura now insists that our rent did not include water though it is clearly stated on lease. She follows up to say we should be paying $75 extra per month instead of $50 for water. The agents are horrible about returning phone calls, much less in a timely manner. The maintenance guys can’t speak English. Deadlines for move in dates mean little to nothing and Laura started screaming at some friends of mine that were moving into a nearby apartment, but asked for the deposit back when the place was not ready by the move in date. They have had to get a lawyer. I could go on but feel this should be enough to discourage any renters from going here. OK one last note, they are overpriced.

18. Elizabeth Says:
    July 7th, 2007 at 7:17 pm

    I also had the displeasure of renting from Laura & Howard Russell in 2004, before the storm. I was there for a month and a half b/c they would never fix anything, my place was a dump, etc. I threatened to her that I’d report her to the BBB and I did. THEN they said they never got my rent check and then I came home from work one day with an eviction hearing notice on my door. We went right to court with that big, goofy nerd, Howard, and I showed the judge the pictures of the slum I lived in, told him all my woes, showed him the copy of my rent check, blah blah blah. The judge ruled that I not have to pay anymore rent, they would keep my deposit and I had to be out in 7 days.

    Luckily, I placed a stop-payment on the rent check that lasted for 6 months at the bank…and of course, they tried to put the rent check through, even months after I had moved out!!!!

    They are total freaks. The pool in the back of the property was a cess pool. I was from out of town and was drawn to the apts., b/c I didn’t know where else to look in NOLA, but on St. Charles!! So, the people that begin renting there do not find out until later about how screwed they really are!

    They are liars, slumlords, nerds and I hate them. I just have to hope that they will get what they deserve one day.

19. Chad Says:
    July 31st, 2007 at 11:58 am

    I am an attorney representing a young couple against Howard Russell et al. There is no such thing as “non-refundable” security deposits. The Louisiana Rent Deposit Return Act, La. R.S. 9:3251 et seq. states that “deposits” are the property of the tenant, held in trust by the landlord. i.e.; if you never moved into their place, they can’t possibly keep your deposit. Queen, if you get this, call me. 504.864.0111. Anyone else having problems with these folks, let me know.

20. Steve Says:
    September 22nd, 2007 at 5:55 pm

    I have also been screwed by the Raunchy, Rotten Russells. I came home after Katrina needing a place till I could decide what to do about my flooded home. I rented from them at 4231 1/2 Coliseum St from Nov of 2005 to Dec 1st, 2006. Ditto to all that has been reported about them-I was told when I moved that LAURA would find a way to SCREW me out of my $$$850.00 deposit EVEN THOUGH THE “APARTMENT” WAS IN MUCH BETTER CONDITION WHEN I MOVED OUT THAN BEFORE I MOVED IN. Class action suit, anyone? The attorney representing the young couple could EASILY win BIGTIME if a bunch of us did this as one group-WOULDN’T IT BE LOVELY TO SEE THESE SCUMBAGS HAVE TO PAY FOR THE HURT AND HARDSHIP THEY HAVE CAUSED OTHERS????

21. johnny Says:
    November 19th, 2007 at 10:27 pm

    don’t rent from HR Properties, HR Prytania or Laura Russell! I lived in their property on Baronne just off Napolean back in 2001. The place was robbed at least 4 times in the 5 weeks I lived there…including a crack-head climbing to my 2nd story balcony to steal my $10 ten speed (he didn’t get it after I beat him up trying to get through my door which was pretty damn scary) Termites, Palmetto roaches, no working shower, bathroom ceiling falling in, weird shady rent drop off neighbor’s mother getting held up out front… the list goes on. The other properties were equally sh!tty and bizarre too. BEWARE!

22. Ruthie Says:
    January 12th, 2008 at 5:55 pm

    Hi everybody. I happened to type in 3936 prytania on a whim in a google search, and found this page of endless complaints. I’m from Detroit, had just talked to Laura yesterday, and was leaning towards renting this property from her until I stumbled upon this site. Since I am an out of towner..can anybody recommend what neighborhoods are best/worst to be looking in? Any good referrals to decent rental companies? Also, could anybody tell me about the property/neighborhood at 2127 carondelet? I spoke with a woman named Dana who is renting studios there. Thanks everybody..take care*xo

23. Sami Says:
    March 23rd, 2008 at 9:04 pm

    How can we get a class action law suit against HR Prytania?

    Sami 314.304.1536

24. Debra Puzio Says:
    March 31st, 2008 at 8:57 pm

    Has anyone