9Certificates of completion
(1)After the completion of the construction of any building in respect of which a warrant has been granted by a buildings authority any person having an interest to do so may apply to the buildings authority for a certificate under this section (in this Act referred to as a " certificate of completion "), and within such period as may be prescribed the buildings authority shall, in accordance with the following provisions of this section, either grant the certificate or notify the applicant of their refusal to do so.
(2)A buildings authority shall grant a certificate of completion in respect of any building if, but only if, they are satisfied that the building complies with the conditions on which the relative warrant was granted.
(3)In respect of so much of a building as consists of an electrical installation a buildings authority shall not be satisfied as mentioned in the last foregoing subsection unless there is produced to them a certificate granted by the person who installed the installation certifying that the installation complies with such of the said conditions as relate to it:
Provided that this subsection shall not apply in a case where it is shown to the satisfaction of the buildings authority that for some reasonable cause such a certificate cannot be produced.
(4)If any person, for the purpose of procuring the grant of a certificate of completion, grants or produces under the last foregoing subsection a certificate which he knows to be false or misleading in a material particular, or recklessly grants or produces such a certificate which is false or misleading in a material particular, he shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.
(5)Subject to the next following subsection, no person shall occupy or use a building (being a building which has been constructed by virtue of a warrant granted under this Act) before a certificate of completion in respect of the building has been issued by the buildings authority, and any person who wilfully contravenes this subsection shall be guilty of an offence against this Act:
Provided that nothing in this subsection shall apply to any occupation or use which is solely for the purpose of the construction of the building.
(6)Where on application made to them it appears to a buildings authority that, because of exceptional circumstances, it is reasonable that a building to which the last foregoing subsection applies should be temporarily occupied or used before a certificate of completion in respect of it has been issued they may (whether or not the construction of the building has been completed) grant written permission for such occupation or use during such period as may be specified in the permission (which period may be extended from time to time by a like permission); and while any permission under this subsection is in force in relation to any building the last foregoing subsection shall not have effect in relation to that building.
(7)A buildings authority shall, subject to the provisions of this section, delegate their functions under this section—
(a)to their clerk, or
(b)with the consent of the -local authority, to the master of works appointed by the local authority.
(8)Subsections (2) to (4) of section seven of this Act shall have effect in relation to a delegation made by virtue of the last foregoing subsection as they have effect in relation to delegations made by virtue of that section.