HELP: Can you require someone to find a new tenant in a month to month rental? (Santa Monica: apartment)

[FaceTheLight]

I rented a room in Santa Monica starting in August. This living situation isn't working out for me so I e-mailed her my written 30-days notice yesterday. I can't give it to her because she got accepted to a school in New York and no longer lives here. Shes a visa student from South Korea, if that's relevant at all. Anyways, she accepted it. However, in her reply she stated:

Written notice to vacate has been accepted and you may leave the residence in clean and undamaged condition on November 31 2011. We understand that the deposit will be fully refunded as agreed, if Tenant replaces someone else by getting permission from the lessor, if decided not to live in the apartment, [address](refer to Addendum to rental agreement number 1.)

It's a month-to-month rental agreement. In my rental agreement, the addendum she references states that:

Tenant agrees to a month to month contract and Tenant may replace someone else by getting permission from the lessor (via any source of contract), if decided not to live in the apartment. And tenant should give a 30 days prior notification by writing with the date of moving out. Fail to do so tenant will not return back the deposit.

Am I responsible for finding someone else to rent my room? What I took my lease to mean and as she explained it, when I rented it was that I had to give 30 days notice and could find someone else to take over my room if I had to leave immediately, with her permission.

Last time I checked MAY was an OPTIONAL word. However, she is saying that I am REQUIRED to find a person to take over my room. I am thinking she is trying to dump the responsibility of finding a new renter on me because she is now out of state.

Basically she is saying that if I don't find a new renter for the month of December, my deposit isn't getting returned. Even though, I gave the required 30 days notice. Can she do that? Is that legal?

[Ceece]

Well the wording of your agreement is kind of pidgin english so it's hard to know what the heck the legal meaning would be. Is there and actual owner or landlord involved somewhere in all of this? Why not give them a call and see whats up.

[FaceTheLight]

^there is no landlord or anyone else involved. She has a lease with the landlord and then has rented out the rooms. All the terms are hers. The landlord/ management company has no knowledge or involvement, so I am kind of stuck.