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My lease says the penalty for breaking the lease is equal to 2 months rent, but if the tenant is cooperative with showings and has the house available and clean at all times, then we typically only charge 1/2 month. So 1/2 month is the reduced amount. Totally normal. My understanding is most landlord will charge this.
Also, many landlords charge a fee if you move out in December or January, since it is more wear on the unit for a winter move, and harder to find a new tenant over the holidays. It sounds like you probably moved right around Christmas, the worst possible time to find a new tenant.
Finally, many landlords will only do 1 year leases. I'm not one of those, but many of the owners we manage for require them on their properties. They give the tenant the option to sign for 12 months or vacate. We do charge a rent premium on any leases less than 6 months, though.
In the past, I have avoided having to pay a lease-break fee by going out and finding a subletter myself (not worth the hassle). But in this case, if you landlord found the new tenant, I think you got off pretty easy.
I realize you're annoyed, but like others have said, you really got out of this painlessly. Breaking a lease is, while not the end of the world, can be a huge financial ordeal for the tenant. The LL could have sat with his/her hands tied for six months making no effort to re-rent the place, putting you on the line for six months rent.
As for the lease options, they're not required to offer various time frames. Most LL's like another year renewal so they don't have to keep renting the apartment every 3 or six months. Next time, try to find a place that goes month to month after the year lease is up.
This is all pretty standard policy/procedures with renting, so keep that in mind so you're not caught off guard in the future.
You need peruse your lease rather than glancing it over. I broke my lease early and already knew the consequences: $250 early termination fee and any rent remaining on the lease if they could not re-rent the property. I kept the property immaculate and staged as it was in my best interest (I would have done it anyway). In the end, I paid the $250 fee and a month's and a half rent. I also walked away with a new appreciation of what a property management company goes through to rent out properties.
The LL could have sat with his/her hands tied for six months making no effort to re-rent the place, putting you on the line for six months rent.
I believe the OP is in Colorado where, although landlords of commercial properties are mandated to mitigate their damages, residential landlords aren't specifically mandated to do so. However, it seems that the CO courts generally apply the same ruling to residential LLs but, given the lack of definitive ruling, the OP could well have been held to pay the remaining six months of the lease term. Got off EXTREMELY well in my opinion!
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