Enercare vs Reliance, compared honestly: for anyone staying in the house more than about five years, the comparison that matters is not between the two rental companies but between renting and owning at all. Both are large Ontario providers, both bill a recurring fee that rises every year, and both include service on the equipment they own. Where they genuinely differ is in contract terms — the escalator, the buyout curve and the exit process — and those are the three pages you should read before signing with either. Buying the same tank outright runs $1,500–$3,000 installed.
What the Two Companies Have in Common
- They own the tank. Neither you nor an independent contractor may replace, upgrade or modify it — the rental company performs any work on its own equipment.
- Repairs and eventual replacement of their equipment are included for as long as you rent. That service coverage is the actual product; the tank is just what it is attached to.
- Both write agreements with a built-in annual increase. The percentage and whether it is capped live in the agreement, not in the sales conversation.
- Both offer a buyout on a schedule that declines with the equipment's age. Ask for today's figure in writing — it tells you what you are really paying for.
- Both keep billing until the unit is physically retrieved or you hold a confirmation that the account is closed, which is where a lot of money quietly goes.
- Both bill some customers through the natural gas bill and others directly, depending on how old the agreement is.
What Actually Differs, and Where to Find It in Your Own Contract
We are not going to quote you a rate for either company. Both price by region, by equipment type and by the vintage of the agreement, and the number a neighbour in Oakville was offered three years ago is not the number on the table in Stoney Creek today. What we can do is tell you which clauses decide your ten-year cost.
- The escalator: what percentage per year, whether it is capped, and whether it compounds on the previous year's rate.
- The term: open-ended, or a fixed term carrying an early-exit charge if you leave before it ends.
- The buyout curve: whether it declines to zero at some equipment age or floors at an administration fee that never goes away.
- Upgrade clauses: what happens to the rate and the term if you move to a power-vent or tankless unit. An upgrade frequently restarts the clock on a fresh agreement.
- Service scope: which parts count as their equipment — tank, valve, thermostat, burner — and which are your plumbing, such as the expansion tank, shutoffs, drain pan and venting.
- Transfer on sale: whether a buyer must assume the agreement and what the paperwork costs, covered in selling a house with a rented water heater.
- The return process: where the unit goes, within what window, and how the account is formally closed.
The Title Question: What Changed With NOSIs
For years, rental providers registered a notice of security interest against a property's title for rented equipment. Homeowners typically discovered it during a sale or a refinance, and it had to be resolved before closing. Ontario changed that in 2024: new notices of security interest on residential property for consumer goods are prohibited, and the province moved to clear existing consumer registrations from title.
The practical advice has not changed much. If you are selling, your lawyer checks title regardless. If you are buying a house with a rented tank in the basement, ask for the actual rental agreement rather than an assurance that it is fine — the agreement is what you will be assuming, and its escalator and buyout terms are what you inherit.
Free quotes, written pricing.
Why an Independent Contractor Cannot Touch a Rented Tank
If you call us with no hot water and the tank turns out to be rented, we will tell you to phone the rental line. We cannot bill you for work on equipment we do not own, and having an outside contractor open it can affect your rental service coverage. That is an honest limitation of hiring anyone independent, and it is worth knowing before you need hot water on a Sunday.
What we can usefully do is work out whether the tank is even the problem. A seized shutoff, a failed mixing valve, a recirculation pump that has stopped, a stuck pressure-reducing valve or a crossed connection between hot and cold are all your plumbing rather than their equipment, and a rental technician will not fix any of them. Our answer on why a water heater is not producing hot water covers how to tell the difference before anyone is dispatched.
The Numbers, Once the Rental Is Out of the Picture
- Renting: $25–$45 a month with annual increases, which works out to roughly $4,500–$8,000 across a 15-year tank life.
- Buying: $1,500–$3,000 installed for a quality gas tank, plus occasional maintenance.
- A straight tank-for-tank replacement: $1,200–$2,500 installed.
- Tankless conversion: $3,500–$6,500, with the most common local job at $4,200–$5,000, plus $400–$1,200 if the gas run was sized for a tank and needs upsizing.
- Add the buyout figure for your current rental to whichever option you choose — see water heater rental buyout for how that is normally handled.
One honest caveat. Renting is not irrational for everybody. If the money is not there this month, if you are two or three years from selling, or if you would rather somebody else carry the risk of a failure at two in the morning, a rental does that job. Price it for what it is: a service contract with a tank attached, and one whose annual increases are the expensive part.
Verdict: What to Do in Each Situation
- Staying five years or more and able to fund it: buy. The escalator is what makes the long tail costly, and a tank is not exotic equipment.
- Staying two or three years: keep the rental, but get the buyout figure and the transfer paperwork now so a future sale is not held up at closing.
- Choosing between the two companies for a new rental: put the escalator, the buyout curve and the exit terms side by side in writing. That trio, not the headline monthly rate, decides what a decade costs.
- Already renting and unhappy: request the buyout figure, compare it against an owned tank or a tankless conversion, and confirm the return process in writing before anything is disconnected.
- Whatever you decide, do not let the old rental unit sit in the basement after a replacement. Billing continues until the company has it back and the account is closed.
We install owned tanks and tankless systems and we will tell you plainly when staying on a rental is the better move for your situation. See our water heater service for what a replacement involves, rent or buy a water heater in Ontario for the longer arithmetic, or ask for a written quote to compare against your buyout number.
Frequently asked questions
Can I cancel a water heater rental in Ontario?
Yes, but usually by buying out the equipment rather than simply walking away, and the buyout amount depends on the age of the unit and the terms of your agreement. Request the figure in writing. Separately, if you signed the agreement in your home rather than at an office, Ontario's Consumer Protection Act gives you a 10-day cancellation right on a direct agreement, and unsolicited door-to-door sales of water heaters have been banned in the province since 2018.
Which is cheaper, Enercare or Reliance?
Neither one is reliably cheaper, and any article claiming otherwise is quoting a rate that expired. Both price by region, equipment and agreement vintage. The honest way to compare is to get both offers in writing for your address and compare three things: the annual escalator, the buyout schedule, and the charge to exit. The monthly figure on the first page is the least informative number in the document.
Do I have to return the rental tank when I replace it?
Yes, and this is where people lose real money. Billing typically continues until the company physically retrieves the unit or you can show the account has been closed, so arrange the pickup or drop-off before the old tank is disconnected, and keep the confirmation. Do not assume that installing a new water heater ends the rental automatically, because it does not.
Can I buy out the rental and keep the same tank?
Usually yes, and it can make sense if the tank is fairly new. Once you own it, the service coverage ends and maintenance is yours, so weigh the buyout figure against the unit's remaining life. If the tank is already eight or ten years old, buying it out often means paying for equipment that is close to replacement anyway — compare the buyout against a new installation before you commit.
Does a rented water heater make my house harder to sell?
It adds a step rather than a barrier. The buyer either assumes the agreement or you buy it out before closing, and the terms of the contract determine which is easier. What causes problems is surprise — a rental nobody disclosed, or an agreement with an exit charge discovered a week before closing. Pull the agreement out early and give it to your lawyer with the rest of the paperwork.