My wife and I had to break our lease early to move to NE for a job. Our landlord told us that if we found someone to take over our apartment, we would not have to pay the $1600 lease buy-out. We referred someone, and they intially told us she wasn't going to be approved so we would have to pay the buy out. However, after we left, we found out she had been approved and they put her in a DIFFERENT apartment. Because they signed her up for a different apartment, we still owe a lease buy-out. Sounds like a form of the old "bait-and-switch", except we're the ones getting screwed. Is this legal for them to take our referral, stick them in a different apartment, and still hold us to a lease buy out when we originally referred this person for OUR apartment?

No, but that will not keep them from coming after you for the rent and you will just have to fight it out.

Well maybe your apartment was not affordable for the referral or it needed to get repaired. It is up to you, but it sounds like if you have a problem with this you need to contest this in court but by the time you hire an attorney to do this, it may cost you $1600 anyway. So it is up to you how you want to approach it.