But, this tactic may go against what your state law merits (big disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer/legal counsel and don't want to steer you wrong, but your biggest possibility of any type of recourse is that lease; I'd probably reach out to legal counsel to see if there's anything the landlord has done to violate this lease).

Not too sure what your current financial situation is so I would not be able to steer you to market you could safely afford...

Should I steer clear of going through a branded "PML Company".Help!

But you'd be surprised at how many people, even locally, will try to steer you away from the city.

I asked a reasonable question to steer my response . . . 

Give her a shout and she'll steer you in the ways local.Dave

It might take a while to find one....I would normally steer you to the state forum here at BP for some local advice but I'm not sure how active the Montana forum will be...might be a good idea to post there anyway. 

Make sure to showcase your screening criteria on your rental application to steer away applicants who would just be wasting your time. 

I'd steer away from that.

We also include Internet and "television" (along with a flatscreen television in each lounge/living room) in our offering and just bake it all into the rent.This does not mean that we do not monitor and endeavour to control resource consumption - we are always making improvements to the building envelope; have installed LED lighting; use low-flow plumbing fixtures; have programmable thermostats and our own building monitoring system.Our objective is to provide our student tenants with a quiet, healthy accommodations complete with all the needed amenities at a cost which is less than a residence room at the university itself.In that light, @Al Williamson is steering you in the right direction - provide them with amenities not at your cost, but at a cost less than they could procure the service themselves.