Hi! I entered into a year lease on May 1, 2008. My landlord never cashed my security deposit check. In November, I got laid off due to the downturn in the economy. I knew I would be unable to afford the rent payments at my current apartment, so I contacted my landlord with the situation. She agreed to let me out of the lease if she could rerent the apartment. She listed it with a broker. However, when this was done she never specified how the broker's fee would be paid. The apartment was rerented for Jan 1, 2009. The landlord has now informed me that I am to pay the broker out of my security deposit and says she is entitled to keep the remainder of the deposit. She then informed me that since her banker made the mistake of never cashing the check, I now have to write her a check for the full amount of the deposit. I have paid the November and December rent and there is NOTHING stated in the lease about breaking it. Can anyone help me with the legalality of all of this? Is the landlord in breach of contract since she never cashed the security deposit check? Am I responsible for now paying to her? Am I responsible for paying the broker fee as I was never informed that this was the agreement?
Thank you for your help! It is greatly appreciated at a stressful time like this!!

Not properly handling the deposit will not void the lease.

You are bound by the terms of the lease, so you can stay and rent, but if you move you are the one breaking the lease, having to pay a month or two rent to get out of a lease is not a bad deal

But no, you owe the rent till the new people moved in, you can be responsible for advertising.