9Commencement and completion of construction of dwelling‑house

9 Commencement and completion of construction of dwelling‑house

(1) For the purposes of this Act: (a) the construction of a dwelling‑house shall be deemed to have commenced on: (i) the day on which work commenced on the laying of the foundations of the dwelling‑house; or (ii) if the Secretary determines that, having regard to all the circumstances, the construction of the dwelling‑house should be treated as having commenced on a later day—that later day; and (b) the completion of the construction of a partly constructed dwelling‑house shall be deemed to have commenced on such date as the Secretary determines, having regard to all the circumstances, should be treated as the date on which that construction commenced to be completed. (2) Unless the contrary intention appears, a reference in this Act to the construction of a dwelling‑house by a person (whether through a building‑contractor or not) shall, if the construction of the dwelling‑house was commenced by another person (whether through a building‑contractor or not), be read as a reference to the completion of the construction of the dwelling‑house by the first‑mentioned person.