Couple who were evicted from home while newborn baby girl was fighting for life in hospital… now face eviction from their new home while mourning their daughter’s tragic death
- Rebekah Gidman had to search for home while in hospital with dying newborn
- Ehvadnai was ill from birth but her condition rapidly worsened
- Baby and parents were moved to Plymouth hospital for specialist care
- After being transferred to Bristol, baby Ehvadnai was taken off life support
- Couple and children now told to move again four months after finding new flat
A couple and their children were evicted from their home as their newborn baby girl was fighting for her life in hospital over 150 miles away.
Mother Rebekah Gidman, from St Austell, Cornwall, received the Section 21 notice – a ‘no fault’ eviction – from their landlord despite claiming they never missed paying rent shortly before giving birth to her daughter Ehvadnai.
After finding a flat in their home town and still grieving Ehvadnai, Ms Gidman and her family were devastated to be issued another eviction notice after just four months.
‘We didn’t even have time to grieve’: Rebekah Gidman (top middle) and her family faced eviction while her and her partner’s (top right) newborn daughter Ehvadnai (bottom left) was fighting for her life in a hospital 150 miles away from home. Just four months after moving into their new home, they received another eviction notice last Friday, June 10
Ms Gidman gave birth through an emergency C-section at the Royal Cornwall Hospital last September, but baby Ehvadnai immediately faced serious medical issues, reports CornwallLive.
She had a severe case of tongue-tie – where the strip of skin connecting a baby’s tongue to the bottom of the mouth is too short – and problems with feeding.
These then progressed into more medical issues so doctors decided the baby and her parents should move to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth for specialist care.
Baby Ehvadnai was born via emergency C-section in Royal Cornwall Hospital last September and faced multiple medical issues which quickly progressed. She was transferred Derriford Hospital in Plymouth as she needed specialist care. After eight weeks she was transferred again to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children after her condition worsened further. In November last year she passed away after being taken off life support
What is a Section 21 eviction and what are the new changes the government are bringing for renters
- A Section 21 notice is a ‘no-fault’ eviction
- Landlords do not need to give a reason for the eviction
- They apply to assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) which are rolling contracts or fixed contracts with a break clause
- Once issued renters have just two months to move out
- The government have said they will ban Section 21 evictions in the Renters Reform Bill
- Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said this move will give renters ‘peace of mind’
- Landlords will only be able to evict tenants on ‘valid’ grounds which will ’empower tenants to challenge poor practice and reduce costs associated with unexpected moves’
Source: gov.uk
Ms Gidman said ‘her body was attacking itself’ as suffered from liver failure, a bleed on the brain and a neck issue meant she could only be fed through an IV drip.
To keep her alive, Ehvadnai needed multiple blood transfusions every day.
After eight weeks in Derriford Hospital, her condition worsened still so she was transferred again to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.
While trying to cope with the medical emergency, Ms Gidman and her partner still had to find a new home while 150 miles away in Bristol.
She said she couldn’t explain the feeling of applying for hundreds of houses while her daughter was on life support.
Ehvadnai passed away in November after she was taken off life support, not long after being taken to Bristol.
After her death, the family spent their savings ‘desperately trying to find somewhere to live’ and to arrange the funeral.
In February this year, the family managed to find a three-bed flat in St Austell for £1,000.
However last Friday, June 10 – just four months after moving – Ms Gidman was issued an eviction notice by their new landlord as they were ‘selling’.
‘We didn’t even have time to grieve,’ Ms Gidman said.
Ms Gidman asked online for help finding a new home , adding: ‘We really are at our wits end and not sure how we can cope anymore.’
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