Quick answer
Buying usually costs less than renting a furnace or water heater in Ontario, especially if you plan to stay in your home for more than a few years. As of October 2026, a Kitchener Utilities 40-gallon gas water heater rents for $22.11 a month plus HST. That’s about $300 a year, or roughly $3,600 over a 12-year tank life. HVAC rentals cost far more per month and run for 10 to 15 years. Renting gives you predictable payments and covered repairs. Buying gives you ownership, a lower lifetime cost and a free choice of contractor. If you already rent, you can buy out the equipment from Enercare, Reliance or Kitchener Utilities. The process for each is below.
The real cost of renting vs buying
A rental’s lifetime cost is the monthly rate times the number of months you keep it, plus HST and any annual rate increases. Here’s how that works out:
| Equipment | Monthly rental (example) | Years | Total paid (before increases) | Typical cost to buy installed* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40-gal gas tank (Kitchener Utilities 40-R-FV) | $22.11 + HST | 12 | about $3,600 | $1,800 to $2,800 |
| 50-gal power-vented tank (Kitchener Utilities 50-PV-FV) | $29.22 + HST | 12 | about $4,750 | $2,500 to $3,800 |
| Furnace rental (illustrative) | $80 + HST | 15 | about $16,300 | $4,500 to $8,000 |
| Furnace + AC rental (illustrative) | $150 + HST | 15 | about $30,500 | $10,000 to $17,000 |
*Typical Waterloo Region market ranges, our estimates as of October 2026, not quotes. The Kitchener Utilities rental rates come from its published 2026 rate sheet. The furnace and AC monthly rates are illustrations only, because HVAC rental rates vary widely by contract. Use the rate on your own bill.
What renting gets you: repairs and maintenance under the contract, no large upfront bill, and a replacement when the equipment reaches the end of its useful life (as the company defines it).
What buying gets you: a much lower lifetime cost, your choice of contractor for service, and no contract to deal with when you sell. With a tank water heater, the main risk of owning is an occasional repair and a replacement every 10 to 15 years. With a furnace, a yearly tune-up and a good warranty cover most of that risk.
Renting can make sense if you’re only staying a few years, or if covered repairs are worth more to you than the cost difference. If the issue is cash up front, regular financing gets you ownership from day one. The equipment is yours and nothing is registered against your house.
Ontario’s door-to-door ban
Since March 1, 2018, Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act has banned businesses from arranging contracts in your home for a list of products unless you invited them. The province passed the change in 2017 under the Putting Consumers First Act. The list includes:
- furnaces and air conditioners
- water heaters
- air cleaners and purifiers, water filters, softeners and treatment devices
- duct cleaning
- any combination that does these jobs, such as an HVAC system
If a contract came from an uninvited door-to-door sale or from misleading marketing, the province says the contract is void. You can keep the product with no obligation, and the business has to cover reasonable removal costs. There are some exceptions, such as when you contacted the company yourself and asked it to install before the 10-day cooling-off period ended.
If someone at your door claims to be “from the gas company” or “doing a rebate inspection”, don’t sign anything. Ask for ID, take their card, and call the company back on a number you look up yourself.
How to buy out an Enercare rental
Enercare rentals can be bought out at any time. Ownership passes to you, and you take over maintenance and repairs.
The process:
- Find your agreement and the age of your equipment. The installation date is usually on the rating plate.
- Call Enercare or notify it in writing and ask for a buy-out quote. On the HVAC contract we reviewed, the number is 1-800-266-3939. Check your own agreement for the right number.
- Enercare calculates the price and invoices you. Once it’s paid, the agreement ends and you have no further rent to pay.
How the HVAC price is calculated. The sample Enercare residential HVAC rental contract (version dated May 2022) sets the buy-out price as a percentage of the equipment’s original “Retail/Total Installed Cost”, plus tax:
| Age | Buy-out % | Age | Buy-out % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 yr | 100% | 8 to 9 yrs | 74% |
| 1 to 2 yrs | 98% | 9 to 10 yrs | 68% |
| 2 to 3 yrs | 96% | 10 to 11 yrs | 61% |
| 3 to 4 yrs | 92% | 11 to 12 yrs | 53% |
| 4 to 5 yrs | 89% | 12 to 13 yrs | 43% |
| 5 to 6 yrs | 86% | 13 to 14 yrs | 31% |
| 6 to 7 yrs | 83% | 14 to 15 yrs | 15% |
| 7 to 8 yrs | 79% | 15+ yrs | 5% |
The percentages stay high for most of the term, so buying out a young HVAC rental costs close to what the equipment originally cost to install. Older contracts and water heater contracts use their own schedules. Enercare’s support site lists a separate water heater buy-out schedule, and the company says terminations follow the terms of your specific contract.
Returning an Enercare water heater instead of buying it involves Enercare’s return steps and removal fees under its current fee schedule. Get the steps and fees in writing before your new tank goes in.
How to buy out or return a Reliance water heater
Reliance’s Ontario non-term water heater agreement lets you either return the heater or buy it.
Returning it. The agreement lists these charges (“currently”, so confirm them):
| Charge | Amount listed |
|---|---|
| Account closure, heater 1 year old or less | $200 |
| Account closure, heater over 1 year old | $40 |
| Account closure, heater over 10 years old | $0 |
| Drain and disconnect, if Reliance removes it | $125 |
| Pick-up, if your own contractor disconnects it | $65 gas / $125 electric |
Buying it. You give Reliance written notice at least 30 days before the date you want to buy. The price is the heater’s depreciated fair market value, calculated by Reliance on a straight-line basis, plus anything else owing. You take it “as is, where is”, and title transfers to you.
Watch for older contracts. Reliance agreements signed before November 2014, and contracts originally from National Home Services or other companies, can have different terms and longer minimum periods. Call 1-866-RELIANCE and ask for the closure, removal and buy-out figures for your contract in writing.
How to buy out a Kitchener Utilities water heater
Kitchener Utilities rents water heaters to its gas customers in Kitchener. As of October 2026, its 2026 rates run from $17.85 a month (40-gallon electric) to $55.50 a month (condensing tank), plus 13% HST.
The process:
- Call Kitchener Utilities at 519-741-2626 or notify it in writing that you want to buy out your rental water heater.
- Kitchener Utilities sets the price, which reflects the unpaid cost of the heater and its installation, plus servicing costs. It does not publish a buy-out table, so ask for the number.
- Pay the invoice. You accept the heater “as is”, subject to any transferable manufacturer’s warranty, and you’re now responsible for repairs and maintenance, including the mixing valve.
Under its terms and conditions, buying out is the only way to end the agreement early, before the heater reaches the end of its useful life. Removal and disposal are charged under Kitchener Utilities’ current fee schedule. If you’re switching to a condensing water heater, ask about its $500 condensing water heater bill credit and current “Switch & Save” offer.
Selling your home: rentals and NOSIs
Rentals transfer with the house. Rental agreements from Enercare, Reliance and Kitchener Utilities generally release you from the contract on the closing date if:
- the agreement of purchase and sale tells the buyer the equipment is rented, and
- you notify the rental company in advance of the buyer’s name and the closing date, and
- your account is paid up.
Buyers can and do negotiate. Some ask the seller to buy out a rental before closing, especially a young, expensive HVAC rental. Know your buy-out number before you list.
What a NOSI is. A Notice of Security Interest is a notice a company registered on your property title to protect its claim on equipment such as a furnace or water heater. For years, NOSIs held up home sales and refinancing until a seller paid what the company demanded.
What changed. Ontario’s Homeowner Protection Act, 2024 became law on June 6, 2024. It:
- bans registering new NOSIs for consumer goods installed in a home, such as water heaters, furnaces and air conditioning
- declares existing consumer NOSIs expired, so the land is no longer affected by them
What it didn’t change. Your contract and any money you owe still stand. The company can still enforce the contract in court and, in some circumstances, repossess the equipment.
If an old NOSI shows on your title when you sell, your real estate lawyer can file an Application to Amend the Register, with the law statement confirming it’s a consumer-goods NOSI, and the Land Registry Office will delete it. The province warns against paying companies that offer to remove NOSIs for a fee. You can search your own title on OnLand.ca for a small fee.
Our take
If your rental is old, a buy-out is often cheap. On the Enercare HVAC schedule above, a 15-year-old unit is 5% of its original cost. At that age, though, you’re also close to replacing it. If the rental is young, the buy-out costs close to the price of new equipment.
When the rented equipment is near the end of its life, the cleanest exit is usually to replace it with equipment you own, then return or buy out the old unit under your contract. We install tank and tankless water heaters and replace furnaces across Waterloo Region. For a sense of the numbers, our furnace replacement cost guide lays out typical local price ranges.
Rates, fees and contract terms in this guide come from the companies’ published documents as of October 2026. Contracts differ by date and version, so your own agreement governs.