It’s actually surprisingly simple. The balcony is common property. If the building is less than six years old, then the defect should be fixed by the developer. If it’s more than six but less than ten, it should theoretically be fixed by the builder (good luck with winning that fight). In reality, it’s down to the owners corp to get the job done now and start looking for someone to blame (and pay) afterwards.
If a previous committee has let the defects issue slide, and a claim would be timed out, then the current owners corp has to carry the can for the fix.
Having recently sold out at a loss because I could see how my committee was bumbling and fumbling along while the developer used every trick in the book to deflect and delay, all I can say is that every new scheme should get on to the defects issue and play hardball until they are fixed.
In this case, the owners corp and committee should be making plans to fix the defect. If they refuse or delay, the downstairs owner has the right to take the committee to Fair Trading and NCAT for failure to fulfil their statutory responsibilities and seek orders forcing them to get the work done.
This is one of those cases where “buyer beware” comes into play. Anyone who bought into the scheme without checking whether defects had been dealt with properly, within the statutory time period, has to accept their share of responsibility for what happens next.