Austin – The owners of the Bel Air condos, located on South Congress, scored a minor victory on Tuesday night when they persuaded a city commission to hold off on forcing them to pay for expensive repairs to the walls of their units.

It was just the latest chapter in a multi-year legal battle over alleged shoddy construction work at Bel Air condos.

These condos were supposed to be the ideal home for hip, young professionals — far enough from the bustle of the tourist-ridden part of South Congress to still be affordable, but close enough to get there within a five-minute drive.

The 83-unit complex finished construction in 2006, with the final condos selling at auction in 2009.

But by 2010 the condo owners — many of them first-time homebuyers — had discovered so many problems with the building’s construction that the homeowner’s association filed a lawsuit against the condo builders. Read more: