Hedyn: Newport City Homes and Melin Merger Explained

On 1 April 2025, Newport City Homes and Melin Homes merged to create Hedyn, a new combined housing association working across South Wales.

Newport City Homes had run the former Newport council stock since the big voluntary transfer of 2009. Melin Homes worked across Monmouthshire, Torfaen and nearby. Together as Hedyn, they now form one of the larger housing associations in South Wales.

A contract holder with either landlord is now a Hedyn contract holder. Your underlying rights have not changed. The name on the letterhead, the phone number, and the complaints contact have.

Why "Hedyn"?

"Hedyn" is Welsh for "seed". The merged body picked the name to signal a fresh identity, not one landlord swallowing the other. For the contract holder, the practical question is simpler. Who do you call when the boiler stops? And where do you complain when the repair never comes?

What does not change

The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 governs your occupation contract. A merger between landlords breaks nothing in it, and weakens no rights. In detail:

• Your occupation contract carries on: Hedyn steps into the old landlord's shoes.
• Your rent and rent review terms carry on under the existing contract.
• The fundamental term that the home must be fit for human habitation still applies, under Sections 91 to 98 of the Act and the Welsh fitness regulations.
• The landlord's repairing duty carries on: structure, exterior, heating, hot water, sanitation, electrics, gas.
• The complaints route carries on, internal complaint first. Disrepair left unfixed may mean a claim. Call us free on 0800 030 4669.

What does change

• Branding and letters. Post and emails now come from Hedyn, and the old NCH and Melin web addresses are being redirected.
• Phone numbers and online portals are merging. Check the current Hedyn website before sending anything in writing.
• Repairs operations. Two sets of contractors and call teams are being knitted together, and repairs can slow while that happens. A job reported under NCH or Melin before April 2025 keeps its original report date. That is the clock that matters.
• Local staff. Housing officers may cover new patches. A new officer taking over means re-introducing your case history in writing.

A reminder: Newport Council no longer holds housing stock

Newport City Council handed its council housing to Newport City Homes in 2009. The council no longer holds housing stock of its own. Renting what was once a "council house" in Newport means your landlord is Hedyn, formerly Newport City Homes, not the council. Disrepair complaints go to Hedyn, never to Newport City Council. See our Newport Council overview for context.

What your repair rights look like under Welsh law

Under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, your contract holder rights include:

• A fitness for human habitation fundamental term across the whole occupation
• The standard repairing duty for structure, exterior, heating, hot water, sanitation, gas, electricity
• A list of 23 hazards in the Welsh fitness regulations: damp and mould, excess cold, electrical hazards, fire, falls, and more
• A duty on the landlord to act without unreasonable delay once told of a defect

See contract holder rights in Wales for the full picture.

What to do if Hedyn is not fixing your home

1. Report in writing. Use the current Hedyn portal or email. Phone calls alone are not enough.
2. Quote the original report date where the job pre-dates the April 2025 merger.
3. Use the formal complaints procedure: stage 1, then stage 2 if unresolved.
4. Get advice on a claim where disrepair sits unfixed. A claim is the route to full compensation. Call us free on 0800 030 4669.
5. Document everything. Photos, dates, doctor's letters where health suffered, copies of every report and reply.
6. Get tailored advice before launching a claim. The law in Wales differs from England.

Compensation

Welsh disrepair compensation follows similar lines to England: a share of the rent paid for the affected period, plus general damages and the cost of replacing damaged belongings. The Renting Homes (Wales) Act adds its own remedies where the fitness term was breached. No fixed amount exists. Awards rest on that share of rent for the affected period, with more where health harm is documented.

Get help

A Hedyn contract holder dealing with damp, mould, leaks, broken heating, or repairs that never come? Call Support for Tenants on 0800 030 4669 for a free assessment. We are a regulated company, not a law firm. We work with solicitors who handle Welsh housing disrepair on a no-win-no-fee basis.

Support For Tenants is a trading name of Cyntex Group Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Claims Management Company. FRN 1020217. Registered in England and Wales.