And just to expand on my previous comment about the 1960s building where “the strata” paid for all the windows to be replaced, there’s a couple of things to remember.
“The strata”, or owners corporation, is all the owners, so by replacing all the windows, all the owners are paying for it. It’s not a freebie from an anonymous body. Your friend still paid, but through their levies.
Also, by replacing all the windows at the same time, the owners would have been able to negotiate a much lower cost than if they had all done it individually, so it makes sense from that perspective. Also it would have guaranteed uniformity of appearance, so that’s another plus.