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In most strata schemes, the lot owner owns the inside of the unit but not the main structure of the building.
The balcony may be on the lot Title but if it a structural part of the building then its structure will be common property. Balconies in multi storey buildings are part of the slab between the Floors therefore would be structural.
The basic rule is that everything inside the airspace of the unit, including all internal walls, fixtures, carpet and paint on the walls is usually the lot and therefore the responsibility of the lot owner.
The following is a checklist for common property (from NSW Office of Fair Trading):
- floor includes a ramp or stairway
- boundary wall includes any door, window or other structure within the wall and their working parts
- ceramic tiles originally attached to a common property surface (eg. the floor or boundary wall)
- pipes in the common property or servicing more than one lot
- electrical wiring in the common property or servicing more than one lot
- parquet and floor boards originally installed
- vermiculite ceilings, plaster ceilings and cornices
- magnesite finish on the floor
- balcony doors are usually common property if the strata plan was registered after 1 July 1974
- the slab dividing two storeys of the same lot or one storey from an open space roof area or garden areas of a lot (eg. a townhouse or villa), is usually common property if the strata plan was registered after 1 July 1974, unless the registered strata plan says it is not.
For more information on common property in strata plans that were registered before 1 July 1974, please visit the Land and Property Information website at: http://www.lpi.nsw.gov.au
I would investigate whether the Owner of the balcony contributed in any way to the leak in the balcony. If the lot Owner has interfered with the membrane in some way such as by piercing it then the Lot Owner would be Contributory Negligent and should pay a proportion of the repair.
See here for NSW Office of Fair Trading opinion on balcony ownership: