adjusterjack, just in case you were curious how this developed, and in case Mr. Knowitall intended to reply to your mention, I thought I would post again. I don't need any further advice, but feel free to comment if you like.

I have an aunt who works in a law office, so I talked to her and asked if anyone there would look at the info on the situation and give their thoughts. Sounds like your thoughts were pretty accurate, adjusterjack.

There were 2 scenarios, based on whether or not I was going to seek a replacement. 1.) If I am going to find a replacement, then I'd win May rent and utilities guaranteed. I would need to advertise the place fairly, but no court would expect that I would find someone to move in on May 1 when notified April 17, and that most tenants have to move out of their present living situation and want to start on the 1st of a month, so I wouldn't need to try and get someone in the middle of May to reduce subtenants rent exposure (but if I happened to find someone to move in sooner than May 31, the subtenants responsibility would end the day the new tenant arrives).

2.) If I chose to live alone going forward, things are a bit more dicey. He said the "acceptance of surrender" isn't automatic upon getting the keys, and that it's an option for the landlord to choose to not hold the tenant responsible for further rent, and the tenant would want that in writing typically. Certain actions may also be considered acceptance of surrender, but none applied here. However, in that same subsection, it says if the landlord decides to utilize the property during mitigation attempts, the tenant has to be credited the value of that usage against any rent they would owe. In this case, the space he was renting now became space I could utilize as the sole renter. In the case of a 2 person rental unit becoming a 1 person rental unit, that value would be half of the rent, so it would basically offset itself.

So basically the advice was, if I'm seeking a new subtenant, push for May rent and utilities. If I'm going to live alone, try and settle with the subtenant and get it in writing that both sides agree no additional money is due to the other. I was told if I tried to take scenario 2 to court, it could go either way or somewhere in the middle, and I might not get much for my trouble after court costs.

So I'm going to try and get him to agree we are even right now, and he doesn't owe me utilities and I don't owe him a partial refund. If he is adamant, it seems the smartest move is to just give in and pay the partial refund minus utilities.

Thanks again for your time and thoughts.