Termination Clause Interplay With Jointly And Severally Liable Lease

Location: Montgomery County, Maryland

My roommate and I signed a "jointly and severally liable" lease to rent a condo beginning July 2024 and ending at the end of June 2026. My roommate has received a non-voluntary order from his employer to relocate to another state on the other side of the country. Our lease contains the following termination clause:

1. CANCELLATION BY TENANT IN INITIALTERM: A. Reasonable cause beyond tenant control: The initial term of this Lease may be terminated upon thirty (30) days written notice to Landlord/Agent due to involuntary change of employment from the Washington-Metropolitan Area... Tenant shall provide Landlord/Agent with written proof of such involuntary change in employment of greater than 25 miles from the Washington-Metropolitan Area. If ... other reasonable cause beyond Tenant's control is claimed, Tenant shall specify the specific cause(s) in writing to Landlord/Agent and must include appropriate documentation thereof. If reasonable cause beyond Tenant's control is claimed other than death of major wage earner or unemployment, Landlord/Agent may verify and accept or reject such claim depending upon the particular circumstances. In the event of termination under this covenant, Tenant may be liable for a reasonable termination charge not to exceed the equivalent of one (1) month's rent at the rate in effect as of the termination date, or the actual damages sustained by the Landlord, whichever is the lesser amount; the termination charge is to be in addition to rent due and owing through said termination date.

However, when we notified the landlord and their leasing agent of our intent to terminate the lease on February 28th, the leasing agent at first said that I would still be liable for continuing rent payments on the condo. They have however put forth another offer since then:

My Roommate: Would pay a termination fee equivalent to half a month's rent which would be drawn from the security deposit

I: Beginning March 1st I would "1. Pay half the rent until the end of the original lease term. 2. Find a roommate to replace the one moving out" If I am unable to find a roommate and the landlords locate a tenant able to assume the full lease, I will have 30 days to vacate. If I find a roommate, I may finish through the end of the lease.

Neither of these offers were really very formally laid out in a cohesive, legalistic manner. What I provide here is as much detail as we were given.

My interpretation is that the termination clause is applicable for both tenants as the text refers to "this lease" not a portion of the liability. Is this assessment correct? Do we have a case to completely end the lease February 28th or should we negotiate with their terms?

I plan on contacting the the MoCo Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs about this, but just wanted to see what y'all think.