For sure landlord is going to tell you that he will retain your PDC and you will have to pay for the whole period.

If really there is a superior law that undertakes whatever written in your contract, meaning that a notice of one months and lose of your deposit is enough, then you will have something in hand in order to negotiate.

My advice: get legal and formal advice.

Speak frankly to your landlord with written evidences, there could be three options:

- he allows you to get back your remaining checks according to law (it that exists).
- he offer you to cutoff your rental payment until it fullfills your expections according to current market situation (could be).
- no agreement at all, so depending on the money pending you can evaluate if it is worthy to move further to court or leave it and give the money as lost.

One time I saw that landlord retained and credited the checks but only until he found a new tenant - it could be an intermediate solution.

War looking for peace,
is like fornication looking for virginity.