Read the portion of your lease that refers to "cost of reletting" Here's an example. 3. RELETTING BY LANDLORD Should Tenant(s) vacate or abandon the leased premises without rent being paid in full for the entire lease term or renewal or extension period, Landlord shall use diligence to relet and Tenant(s) shall be charged for costs of reletting regardless of whether or not reletting attempts are successful. However, Landlord will not be deemed to have accepted any abandonment as a surrender unless written notice of an election to do so is given to Tenants. Acceptance of keys to the dwelling unit shall not constitute an acceptance of any abandonment or surrender. It is the mutual benefit of both Tenant(s) and Landlord to stipulate in advance the costs of reletting because it is difficult to evaluate such costs as inconvenience, paper work, pro-rate advertising, showing leased premises, checking prospects, administrative and office overhead, and locator service fees (all of which may vary greatly). Therefore, it is agreed that costs of reletting shall be the liquidated sum of $200.00 regardless of whether the actual costs are greater or lesser. This amount shall be in addition to past due rentals, future rentals and/or charges for utilities, cleaning, repairing, repainting or other sums due under this lease. All subsequent rentals received shall be credited against tenants liability for future rentals. In the event Tenant(s) abandons personal property in or about the dwelling unit, such shall become the property of the Landlord and the Landlord may retain it or dispose of it as the Landlord determines.

Nope, its very legal. You should've tried to find someone to take over your lease so you wouldn't be penalized for early termination. Unless you had reasons due to unsafe living quarters or unsanitary that was a pre-existing condiction that the land lord wouldn't take care of when notified I think(depending on your states laws) you will have to pay. You can call your local court house to find out for sure.

Does it actually use the word "penalty"? If you break the lease, the landlord is entitled to the benefit of the lease. Thus, if you were paying $1000 per month and had 5 months left on the lease, the landlord is entitled to $5000. There is on caveat to this. The landlord must try to mitigate his damages. Thus, he has to try to rent the place, and if successful, he is only entitled to $5000 minus the new rental income. A "penalty" in a contract is not enforceable. However, just because he calls it a penalty does not necessarily mean it is (but no lawyer would use that term in a contract). Based on you statement about 100% of the rent, it appears that there may be a provision that allows you to break the lease if you pay one months rent. Please provide the exact langauge of the lease to verify.