Peter said….. I would think it would be hard to argue that someone should be prevented from bringing their railing up to a recognised current safety standard but it is similarly not reasonable to require it of everyone.
I agree, but the problem is that the railing would be Common Property and the Owner is apparently expecting that their desired railings (higher) will be paid for by their Owners Corporation (O/C); and that’s not reasonable.
Alex’s O/C could, by Special Resolution, grant consent to that Owner to themselves pay for, install, and maintain whatever railings they desire, but how that appears visually in the context of the whole building needs to be considered.
As Peter said, site specific safety implications need to be handled carefully together with those around aesthetics, particularly if they involve child-safety where the debate about who it is that’s primarily responsible for the safety of children invariably arises.
I won’t go into that now unless it’s an underlying issue in Alex’s post.