FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A fight for the rent at a South Florida man's apartment has taken a macabre turn. The renter died suddenly, and now the landlord claims his family is still responsible for the rent.

Eric Zissen's brother, Art, died in September after suffering a heart attack in his first-floor apartment.

"My brother died on the 22nd," said Zissen. "I notified them on the 24th and I did a walk-through with them on the 5th of October."

More than a month later, managers at the Sun Harbour Yearly Residences sent the family a bill demanding rent for October, November and December, and telling them Art Zissen forfeited his security deposit and last month's rent for failing to give 60 days notice.

"He didn't give 60 days advance notice of his death," said Zissen.

Sun Harbour's property manager said he's only collecting the money he is due.

"Part of the contract says if you abandon your lease and you don't pay on your lease that we have a right to collect your security deposit," said Alan Statsky.

Statsky said he's due three months rent until January, when a new tenant moves into the apartment.

"This landlord's ability to collect rent came to an end when Mr. Zissen died," said Russell White, an attorney for Zissen's family.

White said dying in one's apartment can't legally be considered abandoning the property.

"That landlord, in my view, is trying to take advantage of the situation to extract money," said White. "It looks to me that it's motivated on pure greed."

An interpretation of the lease will be made in January by a Broward County judge.