Help! How to wriggle out of tenancy agreement

[AdaStarkadder]

I'm the rent guarentor (spelling?) for my son's part of a shared house with the tenancy starting in August. He's just been informed by his uni that the Msc he was expecting to start in September won't be running this year because of C19. The uni have offered to roll everyone's places on the course over to Sept 2021 but that still leaves him (and me) stuck with a tenancy he doesn't need and now without a loan, can't afford.
Any ideas?
Can he legally find anyone else to take it over, or is he stuck with it now?
Aaargh, and l'm about to be made redundant.

Advertise in the Students Union. My daughter got her room late for her masters this way.

Definitely get in touch with the uni housing team - hopefully this is a known landlord who they have a positive connection with. They can also match up students seeking accommodation. You are on the legal hook but certainly try the 'acted in good faith' angle. Good luck!

Is he in Scotland?

Is it a normal private landlord or is it private halls?

If he can find someone else to take over the tenancy who meets all the requirements of the landlord then the landlord cannot recover the rent costs from you. So, speak to the landlord and advertise the property. If you can't find a replacement then you'll have to pay - that's just what a contract means.
It's disgusting that the university have just postponed the course by a year. If I were your son then I would move to a different university. Plenty of them are running courses this year and there's no reason why his current uni is so special that it's worth wasting a year of his life waiting for them. I suspect that the university have furloughed some academic staff (whilst the taxpayer covers the cost) and want to keep that up for as long as possible to save money.

And has he signed a tenancy agreement?

Have you actually signed the tenancy agreement

Yes, he has signed a tenancy agreement and paid a deposit.
It's in England, it's a letting agency on behalf of a private landlord.
I'm so fucking angry and upset for him!

That is awful.

As per previous, contact the uni’s accommodation team.

Am l right in thinking he'll have to go through clearing if he wants to get a place for September 2020 as the application deadline has passed?

Masters degrees are direct application aren't they? Clearing is for undergraduate degrees where students apply before their grades are known.
I would phone the university and complain. It's pretty annoying that they've done this.