I can't get out of my rental lease?

[bcnu]

It's a "free country", if you're in the USA and you can certainly breach any contract, including a lease.

If the "lease ended Jan 31" then what's the problem?

The way you "get out of a lease" is to simply give 30 or 60 days of written notice and then move out. It's that simple. You only "owe" rent that they can prove you owe when they sue you in court. If they have not taken reasonable steps to re-rent to someone else, they have no claim. You win. If they DO claim "damages", you counterclaim for everything else they have EVER done to you, including possible illegal holding of your deposit more than 30 days after you left...

Some states even let you sue for double or TRIPLE damages, plus your attorney fees.

See your local tenant advocates or an attorney right away.