9.  The applicants were the owners of a flat in Milan, which they had let to M.A. 10.  In a registered letter of 16 January 1989, the applicants informed the tenant that they intended to terminate the lease on expiry of the term on 30 June 1990 and asked her to vacate the premises by that date. 11.  In a writ served on the tenant on 28 February 1990, the applicants reiterated their intention to terminate the lease and summoned the tenant to appear before the Milan Magistrate. 12.  By a decision of 28 March 1990, which was made enforceable on 25 June 1990, the Milan Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by 30 June 1991. 13.  On 5 June and again on 13 September 1991, the applicants served notice on the tenant requiring her to vacate the premises. 14.  On 3 July 1991, the applicants made a statutory declaration that they urgently required the premises as accommodation for themselves. 15.  On 4 December 1991, they served notice on the tenant informing her that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 13 December 1991. 16.  Between 13 December 1991 and 7 January 1997, the bailiff made twenty-five 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. 17.  At the end of January 1997, the tenant vacated the premises.