Tenant security deposits and unpaid utilities

[Kelly G.]

Greetings;

Apparently, my current and previous tenants have failed to pay their water bills, per the rental agreement.  My PM knew nothing of this until  .  . . well . . I'm not sure how they found out . . Anyway - when a tenant moves out, can a PM check that all utilities have been paid and retain from the tenant deposit any unpaid utilities?  Would the PM be 'negligent' for not having verified this at move out? 

thanks

Kelly