6.  The applicant was born in 1948 and lives in Florence. 7.  The applicants are the owners of a flat in Florence, which they had let to R. A. 8.  In a writ served on the tenant on 4 March 1987, the applicants informed the tenant of their intention to terminate the lease and summoned him to appear before the Florence Magistrate. 9.  By a decision of 3 June 1987, which was made enforceable on 12 June 1987, the Florence Magistrate upheld the validity of the notice to quit and ordered that the premises be vacated by February 1990. 10.  On 10 March 1990, the applicants served notice on the tenant requiring him to vacate the premises. 11.  On 5 April 1990, the applicants made a statutory declaration that they urgently required the premises as accommodation for themselves. 12.  On 11 April 1990, they informed the tenant that the order for possession would be enforced by a bailiff on 31 May 1990. 13.  Between 31 May 1990 and 4 May 1999, the bailiff made nineteen 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. 14.  On 26 July 1999, pursuant to Law 431/98, the tenant asked for the suspension of the eviction proceedings. 15.  On 30 September 2000, the applicants recovered possession of the flat.