stop-hedyn.com

This site is here to share information and to get help and attention for this family, not to harass anybody. We believe the employees of Hedyn want to do the right thing. But as with many things these days, the right thing is often only done when enough attention is given to what is happening.

Let Tom and Cass keep the home their mum chose for them

Stop eviction. Let Tom and Cass keep the home their mum chose. stop-hedyn.com

, Newport, Wales.

Tom and Cass are being told to leave their home just before Christmas, only because their mum, Sarah, died in the house she moved them into.

For years, Tom and Cass lived with Sarah as her carers. A brain AVM had caused seizures and a traumatic brain injury. After gamma knife surgery and cognitive therapy, she had finally become far more self-reliant. Then she found out she had cancer, around her spine.

Her one hope was to move her family into a smaller home that her young-adult children could manage, with room for her support dog. Bedridden, she still helped finish the old house and set up the new one. With her housing association, Hedyn, they moved in, and she was very happy there.

She also set up a joint tenancy so this could never happen. Her home helper remembers it, and the family have asked for the records.

Sarah died on 15 September 2026. Hedyn has confirmed that one of them has succeeded to the tenancy, but says the house has one bedroom more than its rules allow, so they must move to a smaller property. Tom and Cass will pay the full rent, including any spare-room charge. They are still grieving.

The facts

  • Sarah died on 15 September 2026. Tom and Cass lived with her and cared for her for years. This is their only home.
  • There are no rent arrears and no conduct issues.
  • The spare bedroom is the only reason Hedyn has given.
  • Hedyn has said it cannot make an exception.
  • Sarah set up a joint tenancy with her previous landlord, which her home helper attests to. Hedyn says it does not give joint tenancies to a parent and child.

What we're asking Hedyn to do

  1. Let them stay. Confirm in writing that it will not seek possession because of the spare bedroom.
  2. Pause any steps toward moving them while this is resolved and the joint tenancy records are checked.
  3. Keep the family together in the home, with Sarah's support dog.

We believe the people at Hedyn want to do the right thing.

What the law in Wales says

  • A tenancy does not end when the tenant dies. A child who lived with them for the 12 months before the death can succeed to it, including time in a previous home (Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, section 76). Carers can qualify too (section 77).
  • Moving a successor on for a spare bedroom is a choice, not a requirement. It needs a court order, and the court must find it reasonable and that suitable housing is available (section 160, Ground G).
  • Notice on that ground can't be given until six months after the landlord learned of the death (section 161).
  • No one can be evicted without a court order.
More detail and sources
  • Section 76: a child is a "reserve successor" if the home was their only or principal home when the contract-holder died, and throughout the 12 months before, they either lived in the home or lived with the contract-holder.
  • If more than one person qualifies, one succeeds. The family can agree who, or the landlord decides (section 78).
  • A possession notice on Ground G can't be given more than twelve months after the landlord became aware of the death (section 161).
  • Ground G applies only to reserve successors, not to someone who was already a joint contract-holder.

Sources: sections 73 to 78, section 160, section 161, Schedule 8.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Send one email to everyone

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Read the email
Subject: Please let Tom and Cass keep their home

Dear Hedyn and our elected representatives,

Please read stop-hedyn.com. Tom and Cass should not be made to leave their home. Their mum, Sarah, was terminally ill. She chose and planned this house for them and her support dog, and she set up a joint tenancy so they could stay. There are no rent arrears. Please let them stay.

Kind regards,
[Your name and postcode]

Please be polite and respectful. Messages that are abusive or threatening hurt the family's case.

Who the email goes to

Hedyn

Members of the Senedd for Casnewydd Islwyn

Members of Parliament for Newport

The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales ([email protected], 0300 790 0203) takes complaints from the family themselves, usually after Hedyn's complaints process.

Updates

Hedyn wrote to confirm that one of them has succeeded to the tenancy, and that it wants to move Tom and Cass to a smaller property.

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