Deeming completion date under building exemption rules must follow the statutory sequence; quarter entries do not fix exact completion.

Section 2(2) exempts a building from the Act for ten years from the date of completion of construction, and the Explanation prescribes a deeming method for fixing that date by reference to the local authority's report, the local authority's record, the first assessment becoming effective, or first occupation. Where the first three reference points are available, the earliest applicable date governs. An assessment entry showing only "Q September 1982" did not establish completion on 1 July 1982, because it indicated only the third quarter of 1982. As the first assessment became effective on 1 April 1983, the Act continued to apply and the exemption claim failed.

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Issues: Whether the building was exempt from the Act under Section 2(2) on the ground that the ten-year period had expired, having regard to the deeming rule for determining the date of completion of construction.

Analysis: Section 2(2) exempts a building from the Act for ten years from the date on which construction is completed. The Explanation creates a deeming mechanism and specifies four possible reference points for completion: report to the local authority, record by the local authority, first assessment becoming effective, and first occupation. Where the first three are available, the earliest of them governs. The entry showing "Q September 1982" in the assessment record did not establish completion on 1 July 1982; it only indicated that the construction fell within the third quarter of 1982. Since the first assessment came into effect on 1 April 1983, the statutory date of completion had to be determined on that basis, and the Act therefore continued to apply.

Conclusion: The exemption claim failed and the building was held to fall within the Act; the finding against the tenant was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was dismissed, and the eviction decree based on applicability of the Act stood confirmed, with only limited time granted to vacate.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute uses a deeming provision to determine completion of construction, the prescribed statutory dates must be applied in the order and manner provided by the Explanation, and an assessment entry indicating a quarter of the year cannot be treated as fixing completion on the first day of that quarter.

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