Weird noises and debris… could someone be messing with the HVAC?

My son and his girlfriend live in a rented condo on the first floor in Jersey City. Lately, there have been strange noises at night or early morning, almost like scratching, but it doesn’t sound like an animal. The debris falling from the ceiling has gotten worse.

To make things weirder, my son recently had a throat infection and stomach issues, but his girlfriend is fine. We tested the air quality, and everything came back normal.

Could someone be sabotaging the HVAC unit or putting something harmful in the ceiling space? The landlord isn’t helping at all. Should we contact the police to look into this?

Probably just a raccoon.

If you’re hearing scratching and there’s debris falling, it’s almost definitely an animal in the walls or ceiling. Get the landlord to deal with it—it’s their responsibility.

Wait, who exactly is the landlord? Is it the condo owner or some random property manager? If they’re ignoring you, you’re probably out of luck unless you see something obvious like a camera poking through the ceiling.

@Perry
Honestly, a camera might not be a bad idea. At least we’ll know for sure what’s going on.

It sounds like rodents or squirrels. Scratching noises are almost always critters.

This post right here is why I left this forum. Retired electrician… I can’t.

Most likely an animal is stuck between the floors. Happens a lot in older buildings.

HVAC systems aren’t built to hold the weight of a person. I don’t think anyone could get in that way.

Sounds like rodents to me. Also, make sure your carbon monoxide alarms are working properly.

The sounds are definitely coming from the duct space between the second floor and ground floor. It’s getting hard to ignore.

We’ve complained to the landlord multiple times, but nothing’s being done. I’m seriously worried about their health now. We even tried patching the cracks ourselves to stop the debris.