I manage an apartment building where one of the tenants has been continually telling me that the upstairs bedrooms are always hot and that the ac is always running. I had an hvac company come out to verify that the ac is running properly and I can feel cool air coming out of the vents. One thing I noticed is the closet that the ac is installed in does not have a ceiling. It is open and the duct work feeds into the attic from there. I have attached photos to show what it looks like. I was thinking that the cool air may be going into the attic through this gap. Is that a proper installation or should I close it off?

 

Welcome to the forum.
If I understand your post, the duct comes through the attic into the closet of the apartment?
If this is correct, odds are there is no cool air let with the duct being heated by the attic.

 

Either way, it's a fire code violation and needs to be closed off. All penetrations need fireblocking.

Upstairs apartments are just hot. Hot air rises. They are right next to a hot attic and roof so it takes more energy to cool them, and they don't stay cool for long once the a/c shuts off. Depending on how well the exterior walls and ceiling are insulated, that can be a factor.

 

Northern Mike,
Thank you for your reply. The closet is in the upstairs hallway of a townhouse style apartment. The a/c handler is in this closet and the intake vent/filter is built into the door. When I look up into the closet there is no drywall. You can see the duct going up into the attic. My pictures are sideways so the ceiling is on the left.