You can gamble on it not costing you more if you don't pay the penalty, or you can pay the penalty and close the books on the problem. If you break the lease, they are supposed to make a reasonable effort to cover their loss by finding a new tenant. However, if this is a multiple-unit complex, they can make your unit the last one they fill. So if they typically aren't at 100% occupancy, it could be many months (and perhaps the entire lease term) before your apartment is filled. So be careful.

