Is there to be a kind of newel post up there next to it with a bit of railing?

Code questions are best asked of the local code official.

Why was the second floor wall not built inline with the first floor wall?

Why does the second floor nosing not match the second floor flooring material?

Could you show more of the space?

What's on the other side of the stair?

What's down the problem side -- down the wall and down the stairs?

No idea about code. However that needs a sawzall, sandpaper, and white paint. 😁

A railing from wall to the trip hazard will solve the problem. It is definitely a trip hazard in a very dangerous location.

Would tell builder, "this is NOT safe, my child has already tripped, do I need to contact my village code inspector to verify?" Should prompt resolution.

@mdln and ensure zero leeway in future warranty claims. I’d keep your finger off the nukes unless absolutely necessary.

Whether it is to code or not, I’d bring up the concern and determine options. Any reasonable person should see the way they are currently designed is a trip hazard.

So we are in a bungalow .. this is the main floor and it's the stairs leading down to the basement (which is unfinished). There is a bit of a ledge there which was in the floor plans (I never noticed it before though, and I'm also not sure the purpose of it...the wall definitely could've gone straight up we would've probably preferred that if we knew that little piece would be sticking up out of the floor. Thanks for all of your comments, I think I will approach it kindly as see what possible solutions we can do. But you're right I think it does need to be addressed as I don't feel comfortable with it.

(Also for the floor colour not matching , that's a whole other situation, we ended up drastically switching the main floor hardwood out and it is completely different from the stair railing/kit. That part doesn't bother me though; the main priority is the tripping hazard for me).

Thanks!

"That part doesn't bother me though"

It will bother you when someone misjudges the edge of the step and you find them at the bottom of the stairs come morning.

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Falls on stairs are the #2 cause of trauma deaths (second to motor vehicle crashes). We treat patients every day, in our trauma center, who have fallen on stairs. Please do not underestimate the seriousness.

Mark, yes that is understandable, I should have stated that it is not my main priority right now, although yes you're right and it may be in the future or for others who may misjudge the step. If you have a solution for the entire hazardous area that is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Would immediately install a safety gate, until a permanent solution, for ledge and protrusion, is completed.

Mdln we brought our baby gate up/out of storage to set up. Great idea, thanks!

How would it look to put a post like the one on the railing side, onto the wall side and fill in the gap? The post could die into the wall.

That looks rather tricky to trim out, and probably needs a good carpenter.

Should not have the white knobs (top part of skirt boards) on either side. They should die into trim.

I'd probably want a matching post and short section of rail on the right side as the best solution.

I show flooring here on the ledge just as an idea.

Place a couple layers of masking tape on the finished surfaces, then use a Japanese Pull Saw on that bump please.

It needs a post to match the one on the other side. Period.

That's quite dangerous. It's possible that ledge and situation could not be avoided, however, the trip and fall hazard most definitely COULD have been avoided but it looks like someone didn't want to spring for another post.

Definitely a trip hazard. I really don't know why it would have been done this way aside from pure laziness.

Both the stringer sticking up and the ledge look hazardous to me. I can imagine that ledge being very tempting for children to walk out on. I would get the wall above the ledge framed out to eliminate the ledge, that should take care of both problems.