Quick answer
To get out of a Reliance water heater rental you either buy the tank where it sits or terminate and return it. Reliance's published terms set the buyout at the tank's depreciated value, and a return can carry an account closure charge plus a removal or pick-up charge. Seven- and ten-year term contracts can only be ended early by buyout. Call with your account number first.
Getting out of a Reliance water heater rental starts with a phone call from the person named on the bill. Reliance's term agreements say it may refuse to deal with an agent you appoint, so a contractor or a relative cannot make that call for you. What follows is drawn from the Ontario rental terms Reliance publishes on its website; older accounts and ones Reliance acquired from other companies can differ, so ask which agreement applies to yours.
The two exits Reliance offers: buy the tank or return it
- Buy out the tank in place. You give written notice at least 30 days before the date you want to buy. The price is the depreciated fair market value of the heater, worked out by Reliance on a straight-line basis, plus anything owing on the account. The tank is sold as is, where is, with no warranty, and the agreement ends when you pay.
- Terminate and return the tank. Reliance removes it, or you have your own qualified contractor remove it at your own risk. It has to go back in the condition it arrived in, less normal wear, and through the return process Reliance sets.
Which exit is open depends on the contract. The non-term agreement can be terminated at any time. The seven-year and ten-year agreements cannot be terminated until 84 or 120 months of rental have passed, unless you buy the water heater. Whether buying or returning makes more sense for your tank is worked through in buy out or replace a rental water heater.
Steps and paperwork to end a Reliance rental, in order
- 1. Find the account number on a bill, and the tank's age from the rating plate on the jacket.
- 2. Call Reliance and ask which agreement you are on and the date it started.
- 3. Ask for the buyout price in writing, and separately for the charges and return procedure if you terminate, including any reference number the return needs.
- 4. Book the replacement before the old tank is touched, so the swap happens in one visit.
- 5. Have a gas tank disconnected by a TSSA-licensed gas technician, who shuts off and caps or reconnects the gas line, leak-tests it and drains the tank.
- 6. Return the tank or have it picked up the way Reliance specified, and keep a receipt that shows the serial number.
- 7. Read the final bill and confirm that rental charges have stopped.
Charges written into the agreement that catch people out
- Account closure charge: on the non-term agreement it is highest when the heater is a year old or less, drops after that, and falls to nothing once the heater is over 10 years old.
- Removal: a drain and disconnect charge if Reliance removes the tank, or a pick-up charge if your contractor disconnects it and it is not returned to Reliance.
- Condition: the term agreements let Reliance bill for missing, dented or rusted exterior parts and other damage beyond normal wear.
- Rent keeps running: rental charges stop only after the heater has been returned and everything owing is paid.
- A replacement restarts the term: under the ten-year agreement, when Reliance replaces a tank that cannot be repaired, you enter a new rental term that starts on the day the replacement goes in.
- Amounts change: the agreement lists the charges as current figures that Reliance can revise with notice, which is why you ask for today's numbers in writing.
One more thing to check is the title to the house. Rental companies used to register a notice of security interest against the property. Ontario's Homeowner Protection Act, in force since June 6, 2024, banned those registrations for consumer goods and deemed existing ones expired, but an expired notice can still appear on a title search until a lawyer files to remove it, and the ban did not cancel the rental contract. More on that in what a NOSI is.
Who is allowed to disconnect a Reliance gas water heater
A gas water heater is disconnected by a certified gas technician, G2 or higher, working for a TSSA-registered contractor. That is the law for the gas connection no matter who owns the tank, and it is why removing a rental water heater yourself is a bad idea for a gas unit. The same technician can cap the line, drain the old tank and fire up the new one.
A tank-for-tank replacement that you own runs $1,200–$2,500 installed, against a rental fee of $25–$45 a month that rises over time. ZK Mechanical handles the disconnect, the new installation and the paperwork trail in one visit across Burlington, Oakville, Hamilton and Mississauga; the details are on the water heater rental buyout page. Once you have Reliance's figures in hand, call (647) 801-1252 or request a written quote.