4.  The applicants were both born in 1936 and live in La Spezia. 5.  They are the owners of a flat in Florence, which they had let to G. and M. D. 6.  In a registered letter of 3 April 1987, the applicants informed the tenants that they intended to terminate the lease on expiry of the term on 31 December 1987 and asked them to vacate the premises by that date. 7.  In a writ served on the tenants on 25 June 1987, the applicants reiterated their intention to terminate the lease and summoned the tenants to appear before the Florence Magistrate. 8.  By a decision of 19 October 1987, which was made enforceable on 2 November 1987, the Florence Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 31 December 1988. 9.  On 5 April 1989, the applicants made a statutory declaration that they urgently required the premises as accommodation for their son. 10.  On 29 June 1989, the applicants served notice on the tenants requiring them to vacate the premises. 11.  On 21 July 1989, they served notice on the tenants informing them that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 11 September 1989. 12.  Between 11 September 1989 and 14 December 1998, the bailiff made twenty attempts to recover possession. Each attempt proved unsuccessful, as the applicants were never granted the assistance of the police in enforcing the order for possession. 13.  On 17 June 1999, the applicants recovered possession of the flat.