Portsmouth police were contacted after a Hisle Park Apartments resident reported water pouring through the ceiling and said the upstairs neighbor frequently leaves water running and passes out.
The call came in just after 9:30 p.m.
The resident told police water was coming through the ceiling of the apartment and asked for a welfare check on the person upstairs.
According to the police log, PMHA maintenance reportedly told the caller they could not do anything and advised the resident to contact police.
Police advised the caller that officers could not force entry into the apartment. The caller was told to contact maintenance again and that police could respond if officers were needed after maintenance entered the unit.
The resident later posted video on social media showing water pouring into the apartment from the ceiling. In the video, the ceiling appeared badly damaged and looked as if it could give way.
Another person commenting on the post said they lived in the apartment above the flooded unit and claimed their apartment was worse. That commenter said they called the maintenance line multiple times and also called the non-emergency line, but were told nothing could be done.
SCDN has previously reported on repeated problems at the Hisle Park Apartments.
The complex was built to give young adults aging out of foster care a safe place to transition into independent living. But residents have repeatedly reported serious problems, and police have been called to the property again and again.
Those calls have included reports involving drugs, guns, disturbances, and other safety concerns.
This latest complaint was not about drugs or violence. It was about something much more basic: water pouring through a ceiling while residents tried to figure out who was actually responsible for stopping it.
For tenants, leaks are not just an inconvenience. Water coming through a ceiling can damage belongings, create electrical hazards, lead to mold, and make an apartment unsafe to live in.
For police, the situation also shows the limits of what officers can do. A welfare check may be appropriate if someone is believed to be passed out or in danger. But police cannot simply force their way into an apartment over a maintenance issue unless there is a legal reason to do so.
That leaves residents caught between maintenance, property management, and emergency services while water continues to fall.
At Hisle Park, where residents say they already feel surrounded by chaos, even a ceiling leak can quickly become another crisis.
