4.  The applicants were respectively born in 1962, 1932 and 1934 and live in Florence. 5.  They are the owners of a flat in Florence, which they had let to P.V. 6.  In a registered letter of 25 July 1983, the applicants informed the tenant that they intended to terminate the lease on expiry of the term on 30 April 1984 and asked him to vacate the premises by that date. 7.  In a writ served on the tenant on 24 April 1984, the applicants reiterated their intention to terminate the lease and summoned the tenant to appear before the Florence Magistrate. 8.  By a decision of 11 May 1984, which was made enforceable on 13 June 1984, the Florence Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 11 May 1985. 9.  The tenant asked the Florence Magistrate that the enforcement be postponed. 10.  On 21 June 1985, the Florence Magistrate ordered that the premises be vacated by 30 April 1986. 11.  On 5 June 1986, the applicants served notice on the tenant requiring him to vacate the premises. 12.  On 23 June 1986, they served notice on the tenant informing him that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 3 September 1986. 13.  Between 3 September 1986 and 16 December 1998, the bailiff made thirty-five attempts to recover possession. Each attempt proved unsuccessful, as the applicants were not entitled to police assistance in enforcing the order for possession. 14.  On 12 July 1999, pursuant to article 6 of Law no. 431/98, the tenant asked the Florence District Court to suspend the eviction proceedings. 15.  On 9 April 2001, the tenant died and his son refused to leave the flat. 16.  On 11 May 2001, the bailiff made one attempt to recover possession, which proved unsuccessful, as the applicants were never granted the assistance of the police in enforcing the order for possession. The next attempt was deferred to 16 October 2001. 17.  Between 16 October 2001 and 21 November 2002, the bailiff made four attempts to recover possession, which proved unsuccessful as the applicants were never granted the assistance of the police in enforcing the order for possession. 18.  On 3 March 2003, the applicants recovered possession of the flat.