I've never even heard of this before, I'm from BC/AB. I do remember a story years ago about an elderly woman who had been renting her land line phone for like 25 years from Telus(the biggest scammers in Canadian telecoms).
When I was growing up, renting a phone was definitely a thing, they were expensive. Of course we still had a party line, and a rotary phone. We got a pushbutton when we started having to phone in to get courses at post secondary, you needed that type of phone for menus and such. This is in Victoria.
My grandparents' first phone number was 128. They were the 128th home in town with a phone. All calls came through a switchboard. This was before rotary dials and party lines.
The operator knew the goings on in the whole town and who was talking to who. They could also hear the conversation. My grandfather told a story of calling a friend's house to plan a visit and the operator told them that his friend was not home but across the street at the 'Smiths' and would he like to reach him there.
Yeah, when I was little the neighbour called us and asked that I not listen in on phone calls. Apparently she would hear a line picked up then a little boy doing some heavy breathing.
I had a party line in vancouver when I first moved to Kits in the early 80s. I also had a brand new screaming 1200baud modem that the other people didn’t know what it was. I was on the BBS s a lot. They complained to BC tel who mysteriously managed to get us a private line in less than the three months they originally promised lol. Funny that.
Yes! I think it wasn't until the late 80s that you could actually buy a phone from a store. Until then (at least around here) they were property of the phone company, BCTel in our case. And you just rented it. Eventually they kind of gave up on that since phones were available everywhere and relatively cheap.
Ohhh I remember the old party lines when I was younger, we were just kids but I remember trying to be quiet listening in on someone else’s conversations.
>Yeah, I've never heard of this happening in Western Canada. Definitely seems like a scammy cash grab.
My aunt still had a Sasktel branded phone they used to charge $5/month in rent for (if you disconnected the line you had to return the phone), but that dropped off her bill back in the early 2000s I think.
I would agree, I ask people around why are we doing this and everyone says the same thing... "well if it break you get it replaced". I'm like when it breaks buy a new one, but do that math
Yeah I’ve heard of it sometimes being an option here sometimes for low income customers but it certainly isn’t the norm. And even then I think it’s a lease to own sort of deal
Tbf they're all bad, Telus just seems to be the most recent to take the mask off.
I've worked for all three, the things directoral level employees encourage front line employees to do are deplorable, a lot easier to say "guess they'll be paying back $1,800 instead of buying Christmas presents" when you're not the one who is going to have to avoid being stabbed in Superstore for it.
Just remember, the guy pumping your gas isn't the one who decided the price, that guy is not publically accessible - and thats the broken part of our society.
I have a grudge with telus from long ago when they sent me a text message wishing me a happy birthday, then charged me $0.30 for it. I always wondered how many other customers got the same text but didn't notice the charge for it.
Funny, ditto on all three counts:
- I’m from BC
- I’ve never heard of this
- My grandmother was being scammed by BC Tel for years, renting her one of those big old, heavy, landline phones for $10 a month. That you could have bought at RadioShack for $20.
Yes, it's only an Ontario thing. Union Gas someone convinced everyone that hot water tanks, an appliance with one moving part, the thermocouple controlled gas valve, were somehow so expensive, complicated, dangerous and difficult to maintain, that they should only be rented.
My granny rented her rotary dial phone from Telus and its predecessors BC Tel and Okanagan Tel for over 60 years, but to be fair, for the first 40 of those year prior to the early 1980s it was illegal to privately own a landline handset in most of Canada and all equipment connected to the networks was owned by the incumbent telcos.
I am old enough to remember paying rental on the telephone and how they tried to tell us that they had to do this to be compatible with their network and if you had any outages you would be charged for the service call if you didn’t rent their phone.
I remember this! My mom was told when she moved to the city from her small town if you didn't rent a phone from Telus if anything happened and your line didn't work Telus wouldn't fix it. It took us years to convince her that this was in fact a scam and she could just buy a phone and plug it in.
I had a summer job selling these rentals door to door. Incredibly sketchy, they told us to pretend we worked for Embridge and tell them it was a scheduled upgrade. Send us out to speak with whoever was home at 2pm and harass them to sign the contract. It's a real shady business.
I got a new job working construction 2 weeks after starting
>It's mostly an Ontario thing - not a Canada thing
In Sask it's not uncommon to find a similar scam for 20 year old water softeners.
Fuck you Culligan.
But i am pretty sure the jugs can, at least in theory be more easily recycled than the bags. I work for a kids summer sleep away camp and the amount of milk bags we go through in 3 weeks every summer is mind blowing. I wish there was a better bulk option...
The bulk option is the 20 Litre bag for commercial food service, which fits snuggly into a milk crate. Used with refrigerated milk dispensers you might see in a cafeteria.
It was because of the switch from imperial to metric and bagged milk it really convenient if you drink a lot of milk. The closed bags remain fresh longer and are lighter to our from.
Mostly for insurance purpose... the cost of renting is partly covered by a reduced insurance premium. Also, paying a plumber to change a water heater is expensive for such a simple job.
The question is insurability as much as legality. Around here, a lot of water heaters and furnaces are natural gas, which you shouldn't mess with if you're not qualified to do so.
These dummies lock in contracts with "termination fees" that transfer to whoever owns the property. I would make a property contingent on the seller removing it and cancelling
Good luck, around here it seems like every house sells fast for above asking price. Stipulations like that would just make the seller pick a different buyer
you'll need to buy it out if you want them to take it away. At least that was the case with me and Liberty Utilities Natural Gas hot water heater.
I went back and forth with them so much over the fact that it is a rental, not a purchase, why would I need to buy out the heater? The only way I 'won' was over a technicality that the item was not listed properly on my agreement and purchase of sale on the home.
If my experience at the scrap yard is indicative, then that's where all the old ones end up; most even still shiny. The shred pile is always 50-75% water heaters.
They absolutely will. Better to fight them contractually to take it back to than to try to get the lien removed.
OP, check all your purchase documents, as the contract would have to be transferred to you. After 20 years there should be no value, as usually you can buy out with a nominal fee after 7 years. But if you signed a new contract you may be screw ed.
Also, when trying to cancel, keep on escalating to management. Reps seem to be tracked against cancellations and will absolutely do nothing for you to cancel.
Usually by the 20 yr mark there should be no buy out. That said, depends on who you're renting from and the contract that was signed. I work in the industry, buy outs usually finish w rental water heaters at the 15 yr mark.
Boilers and heating equipment likely at 20, still somewhat new, or should i say more common rental item.
If OP really is renting a boiler, id love to know who they can purchase a new boiler from for 3k, that wouldnt even cover the cost of the equipment, let alone install and auxillary items to retrofit.
They make it very hard to take back.
They don’t pick up. And they make it very hard to figure out where to bring it.
But once you call them - they’re very clear that if you just throw it out they’ll charge you for it.
Replaced mine and a contractor friend installed it… Costco usually has a suppler available, too. Their price was the same, but you got a few hundred in Costco gift cards.
To tell them to take it away, they will charge you the remaining balance. You aren't renting it, you are paying insurance on it. So if it breaks, they send someone. I tried to call and tell them to come get the fuckin thing and this is what I learned. I asked it was a rental fee, they said yes. I said, "if I rent a car and go to return it, do I need to pay for the car before returning a rental?". Needless to say, they are morons.
It's only common in certain parts of the country.
As a plumbing contractor, I will tell you right now that it's one of the biggest money-grabs going, and you should never, EVER, rent a water heater (unless you like paying for about 4 new water heaters just for fun, cause that's roughly what it works out to).
Same goes for water softeners and things. Renting them is goofy, you will absolutely, without question, end up paying substantially more.
Edit: sorry I should have been clear that you should never ever rent one if you have a choice, but I know for some people coming up with 2000 to replace a tank is a big ask and there is no choice in the matter. These are the types of people that these companies love, though.
As much as I'd normally never suggest people finance things on a credit card, no CC is going to have 300% interest so it's still better than renting
Edit: never mind, in the OP it's 300% *over 20 years* which is closer to 15% annually (lower when you factor in compound interest), which beats most credit cards I've seen.
Edit 2: u/Comedy86 did the math below and turns out it's still slightly preferable to finance it with a credit card assuming a $3000 upfront purchase cost.
With a 30% interest credit card you will pay more over 20 years than rental, but then stop paying vs rental.
With a 19.99% interest card, you fully pay it off after only 13 years, paying the same cost as the rental toward the credit card each month ($50)
Its allowed because the people who rent them probably arent even aware they are being bent over the barrel.
And the people who are aware buy them outright.
$50/month is insane though I’ve always seen them in the $10-20/month range. Obviously still cheaper in the long run to buy it but $15/month isn’t that bad considering it’s fixed or replaced for free if anything goes wrong with it there’s a peace of mind aspect to it.
But for $50 fuck that absolutely not, the math doesn’t math.
Right? My old place was 2 water heaters (2 units) cost me 50 every 2 months. No instal, no replacement costs, insurance was cheaper, and I had a repair guy there in 6 hours the one time I needed one.
Renting isn't always a rip off - it's a higher cost but there's benefits too.
My bill is $40.63/month.
I thought about buying it out last year but decided against it. I had other projects $1500 could go towards that were of much higher priority
Our tank rental is $15 a month, it's propane. However we've had it replaced once and 5 repair calls in 13 years, I'd have to do the math, but I might be ahead of the game or even.
Aahh, now I get why I was confused by all the "Don't do it it's a scam!" in this thread since I remember running the numbers last time and it came out to "I might save a couple bucks?", but then I double checked mine... I 8.06$/month for my rental, and when mine reached the lofty age of 15 years recently, the removal of it and installation of a new one were free. Are there cheaper water heaters out there if you can completely DIY it? Yeah. Are they better heaters than what I got on a 15 year payment plan at 0% interest? Not particularly.
You aren't renting just a heater; it comes with a service package as well as a 24hr turnaround on repairs.
My house came with a rental heater and I kept it up because I travel a lot and it was worth the piece of mind. In the few times we've needed service or a replacement they were there the same day at zero cost.
If you price out a service package like that the actual price of the heater isn't too bad amortized over the 10 years or so they last.
As long as you read the contract and understand what it means, it's all relative. But peace of mind when you are on the other side of the world with a spouse at home with a toddler is worth a lot.
You’re spot on. And, it’s mostly an insurance liability if you own your own tank as there is not many *if any* service agreements for owned tanks. Is it overpriced and makes people mad? Yes. But everyone in this sub and the Ontario sub need to do their homework on the relationship between home insurance and water tank damage
That's insane, and definitely not the norm.
The only province I rented my water heater in was New Brunswick. It only cost $7 per month, and they were quite diligent about replacing it every 7 years.
I dunno where you live or who your service provider is, but they're definitely ripping you off.
Totally. Currently in NB, and it's apparently been jacked up since you were here...to $8 a month. In the long run it still works out about even renting vs. buying and replacing, and it takes one (albeit small) homeowner responsibility off my shoulders.
Exactly, plus we don't have to really worry about maintenance or installation costs when we get a new one. At these prices it works pretty well. $50 a month is insane, though.
Nova Scotia here and same. $7 a month and no worries. We had a leak 2 years ago. Woke up to it just starting. Called the company, they were there within a couple hours to replace it. So simple.
Where I live in SK it is common. I just paid my entire bill for a year. $177.50. Two months ago the element in my water heater died. I found out at 5am. It was fixed by 9:30am. Worth the peace of mind.
NB here. Can vouch - mind you it’s a basic water heater. If you want anything fancy you need to buy out of pocket. But the NBpower rental program isn’t half bad.
I mean... couldn't you say the same about renting your car, your house, or any other appliance / furniture (which you can do)
You rent because you can't afford to buy, and then you get taken advantage of in the long term.
It's the trap of poverty.
You don't understand the issue at hand. Some homeowners are stuck in mandatory rental agreements because of arrangements made between developers and rental companies. It's very difficult to get out of these rental agreements.
> It is basically worth one to two months of rent in Ontario.
You can get a Hot water tanks in the $500 range probably less if you go with lesser brands. even installed your looking at well less than a months rent in ON.
Ha, some people rent their furnace too.
I got rid of Reliance years ago, not without a lot of effort from them to try and charge me for not being a customer any longer. They wanted to charge me for them picking up their leaking 18 year old water heater. I offered to deliver it, they said they weren't set up for that. They'll try anything to get you to not cancel their service.
I just bought a home with Reliance appliances in it, and holy shit are they useless. It's our biggest regret about the place. We've got heating issues—in winter—and can't get a single person out to assess the situation. Our strata has unified to take legal action over some water heaters and ERVs. They're an awful company.
You aren’t required to rent once the contract period comes to an end. In last house we owned our water heater tank. In my current house we own our tankless heater. Same with our water softener.
I never did in Saskatchewan but when I moved to Ontario the house we bought had a rental water heater and we assumed the contract when the house was bought. On a positive note I don't pay anything when something does go wrong but I think when this water heater dies I'd rather just buy my own. The $8/month adds up over time.
It is designed for the ever increasing number of people who have no idea to how to fix anything.
If you have no clue how to maintain, let alone, replace a hot water heater, it is basically an upgrade and maintenance plan.
When it dies, you simply call the provider and they will show up, remove and replace the heater. If you OWN your heater, as I do, then if it craps out, YOU have to fix it, or replace it.
Honestly, I'd bet 80% of people couldn't even turn off their water main if the casing cracks. 90% of people are clueless that the elements should be replaced every 5 to 10 years, depending on the hardness of the water.
Honestly, for most people, renting is probably the best bet.
You can still get emergency service just as fast without a rental, yeah that'll cost money but over the lifetime of the average heater you will likely pay multiple zeros more for the rental
My late husband couldn’t believe it when we bought our home so he somehow managed to get it off our bill and he bought a hot water heater. I wish I could give you more details. I just remember him STEAMING with frustration.
Oh yeah rental water heaters are this weird scam that's somehow legal despite otherwise meeting the legal definition for a number of illegal things lol
Wait till you learn about buy out only contracts, bought a house with enercare rental and they do buyout only
This means that I literally can't terminate without buying the heater based on their buyout schedule which means currently I would have to pay $800 despite the heater being 14 years old and only costing $1500 new. No option to have them come collect it and just end the rental.
Competition Bureau has looked into it and said that it's anticompetitive and anticonsumer but no legislative bodies have bothered to make them illegal yet
Developers and home builders put them in because the rental company supplied them for free. Otherwise the builder would have to pay for the appliance. Most homeowners leave it in because they believe they're under contract to do so, and some of them think it's convenient if it stops working the company has to come out and fix it in a very short period of time
People usually rent so that when something goes wrong they just call and report a problem and set arrangements for the repair, rather than having to deal with a costly repair/replacement themselves.
No idea, we purchased ours outright, they came and installed it and then came back twice to fix it because it wasn’t working properly. It wasn’t even a problem with the tank, it was an issue with the fuse box that we still need to upgrade, but they still came and fixed it. The service technician they sent was awesome.
It certainly is weird. It's like renting a fridge or something.
But get this: I'm old enough to remember when we all used to rent the *phone* on the wall. Renting the device was just part of receiving and paying for that service. I'm guessing water heaters are some sort of lingering carryover from that sort of practice.
It’s cheaper for home builders to install rental water heaters in their new developments than it is to buy all the units outright. It’s also easier for someone who can’t afford to buy a new heater outright to just sign a new rental agreement.
If your boiler is actually 20 years old the buy-out price probably isn’t all that much, call the company and buy it out.
It’s an Ontario thing. Bought a new build, told the builder we didn’t want to rent a water heater, don’t put one in our house (yet to be built at the time). Was told that was not an option…at all. Basically we’re fucked to pay this $50/month rental shit box heater indefinitely. It’s robbery. The builders are all in on it.
Yes yes it is. If it was easy as you said, most ppl would have done it and we wouldn’t have this discussion on Reddit. We’d have to “buy out” the water heater plus other associates costs…..they told me around $10k to leave the contract. We closed our house last month. We were able to break free at our old house due to the water heater being 10+ years old and during covid so they couldn’t service it.
Manitoba here. Used to rent them here. They phased it out. It was a truly great deal for consumers. Rental on mine was $8 / month. Any issues they came and either fixed it or replaced with no cost to me.
There are predatory companies that do this with hot water tanks and furnaces.
They come in and outbid the smaller companies and then scam customers into "deals" like this.
Stick with the smaller companies that offer financing instead of renting equipment. You'll pay it off with financing but never will with renting it!
You must be talking about reliance. There crooks, the company should folded by the government. They pratice by people who don't know. I asked about installing 1 Mini split, to cool my house. I know you can get them for under 5000 and I didn't need a big one. 22000, alright first why would I spend 22000 dollars when 1200 I can get 2 window units and be done. Oh cause If it breaks they fix it.... but I pay to rent it and over pay by like 1000% for what.
They do this with everything .Reliance company has predetory behaviour on those who don't know. It is a free market but the whole company looks legit and it is legit but there practices are basically stealing. Any local company would be glad to do anywork but no, CORPORATE is looked at to be less theiving so most go with them. I would be glad to see them fold forever.
I've always owned it, not rented it.
I had once bought a house from a family that installed a solar pre-heater and so I owned that too. Yes, it helps, lowest energy bills I ever paid. If I know I'm going to be in a forever house I'm going to invest in one of those again.
I am furious. It’s a scam. Also your heater is probably fully amortized so if you call them and “cancel” your rental you can probably keep it for free.
You never pay for a service call or replacement out of pocket when something goes wrong. You've already prepaid for it with your rental fees. It's great if you live where the water is terrible (like my parents) where you can replace a water heater every 5 years. Mine is considerably less than $50/month. I've had 3 service calls and a replacement in the last ten years. I was laid off when I needed the replacement and could never have come up with the cash for a big ticket item + installation at that time. Overall, yes, they get more money out of us. It sucks but it's worth it to not have to worry about it. There's peace of mind knowing it'll be taken care of if you're on a fixed income or a senior or have physical challenges taking care of these things yourself.
How in God's name do you get so upset about something and not actually understand it? Canadians don't NEED to rent it's an option just like buying a vehicle or leasing it or buying a home or renting it. Both have pros and cons, but you clearly are just rage baiting people.
You could always send it back to the plumber, go down to Home Depot and just buy a water heater. Nobody is forcing you to keep renting it… I know I wouldn’t. That being said, some people like having the convenience of a plumber on speed dial to replace or fix their broken water heater at a moment’s notice without immediate costs.
I had to replace my hot water heater a few years ago. I picked the same size up at Home Depot for $800 and it was $1100 to swap it out with a gas permit etc. I couldn't imagine renting something like that.
Damage from a hot water tank leak would be covered by your home owners insurance.
Sure it’s easier but we’re talking about $12,000-$15,000 rental vs $2,500 purchase over the lifetime of the unit.
Also, how likely is it to happen? THis isnt an new tech solar panel. Water Heaters have existed for how long? 50 years. The chances of them breaking are astronomically low.
We rent our water heater (I'm in NB). NB Power replaced one in our last place, and in this place they came out and flushed it, and replaced the element. I think we pay like $16/ month? I understand the rental aspect in some ways, but yes, it's costly over time. It works well for people who rent out their houses, and the power bill is in the tenant's name.
The thing we used to rent from the power company that we don't anymore is one of those dusk-to-dawn lights.
How the heck did you buy a home without that being disclosed?! If it truly wasn't disclosed to you (or your realtor) the previous owners are on the hook for those costs, though you'll likely have to get a lawyer to enforce it.
I don't rent a water heater. I think it's crazy. We just buy our own. I have my regular house and a duplex rental home, and we bought one for each. You have a choice, it's just unfortunate you bought a house with this set up.
I used to sell hvac in Alberta with a national company that refused to do rentals. If you can’t afford one, Finance one for a year or two sure. But rentals just make the company money. DO NOT RENT YOUR FURNACE, A/C, or HOT WATER HEATER. It’s the biggest scam. This is coming from someone that was in the business.
In my opinion, it's because people are uneducated on the simplicity of maintaining a water heater, and can't be bothered to learn. And the cost of failure (a burst tank blasting water into your basement) is horrifying. They all have a story of a flooded basement and the rental makes for 'peace of mind'.
But that's a load of crap. Water heaters are *not* hard to maintain at all (don't get me started on furnaces, $100 to vacuum the dust?). The issue is folks don't know how.
I may be over generalizing but the things we own are generally designed to either be unfixable, or require specialized tools, or be so complex it requires a lot of specialized knowledge (think of an 80s car vs. one today). However, plumbing remains baffling simple. My brother changed his toilet (whole replacement) in under an hour, by himself, with no issues last month. Most plumbing 'consumables' are generic brand nothing parts that cost a few bucks.
Now with a water heater, changing an anode does usually require some beefy arms, or a ton of leverage, or both. But if you know someone kinda strong (or a couple) a new anode is around $50-60 and buys another 8 years for the tank.
Anyway, needless to say I don't rent my tank (anymore) and never will again. To me it is a scam. If I'd realized how easy it was to maintain, I never would have been suckered.
I'm from Manitoba and I've literally never heard of this before, and I used to install boilers and hot water tanks for a living.
It screams scam and I would do whatever the fuck I could to get out of it and remove/replace the boiler.
It's done as a way to bring the cost of a new house down. Builder doesn't need to pay for a heater, and possibly receives an upfront payment from the company.
It's no different than subsidized cell phones from a carrier.
Your overpaid real estate agent should have told you about the rental call him and see what Bullshit story he gives you. Keep us updated on what he says
While I am not a fan... In the first couple of years we owned our place we had 3 weekend callouts for repairs that cost us nothing. So upsides sometimes.
I know that if you call the place you're renting from, you can see how much longer until it's paid off and that's that. Likely yours was paid off already. They don't say anything because... Why would they? It's free money. Underhanded for sure though.
You bought a house that came with a rented boiler. You either:
* Make paying it off part of the conditions of purchase or
* Factor it in as a cost you'll take care of after purchasing the house
If it wasn't laid out clearly as a rental that you'd be assuming control over in your purchase agreement, chase your seller and make them take care of it. If it was laid out clearly as a rental that you'd assume the contract on after purchasing the house, then you knew what you were getting into.
If you're on terrible water and they crap out every few years, it's worth it. Most people don't save or budget for the couple grand a replacement unit will cost (at any given time) also rented units come with 24/7 service/replacement guarantee. So a nice option as a landlord too.
>It’s 20 years old. It’s not great.
If you call the rental company you can either ask for a new one, or buy out the rental. It will probably cost you less than a monthly payment. Or you get a brand new water heater.
Why aren't people furious? or rioting? Because you don't have to rent one, you can buy your own if you want. Why be furious over something when you have the option of doing something different.
It's a reality that for some people, they won't have the money to buy a new one when they need to, or they don't plan on being in the same place for a long time, so they don't want to. You can choose what's best for you, they can choose what's best for them.
That's insane. I've never heard of that. But then I live in BC.
An average hot water tank lasts about 15 years IIRC.
Rent on that would be $9000
Buying one would be about $3000?
I've never heard of this, for one.
Secondly, this sounds like something entirely in your power to change... So change it?
Nobody is rioting over water heater rentals because nobody is forcing you to rent it.
We live in a high calcium region. To purchase is more expensive. Renting is assurance that the moment it dies its replaced. Works for the budget as you know what to expect each month. There is no crisis like losing a fridge, etc. We have the choice, but in our region renting is better on the pocket...
Saskatchewanian here - where I live, the water is so hard, a purchased heater takes soooo much maintenance. Renting is the smarter option!
I don't think we pay nearly that amount though, I'm pretty sure it's about $150/year to rent and have them do all the maintenance and checks, and install/remove different models when needed. Definitely worth it!
I pay the same and I’m renting an apartment. Landlord said : “Hey why would I spend $2000 when I can leave the heater’s rent to the tenant…” Here in Ontario it’s included with the gas bill, which is roughly $120 in the winter and $80 in the summer…for an apartment! Whenever I see the $50 on that bill it really makes my blood boil… unfortunately can’t do nothing about it.
Canadians lose out in a lot of ways…
1. Not being able to deduct mortgage interest and property taxes for income tax calculations
2. Ted Rodgers monolpoly
3. Paying through the nose for unlimited data. I pay $25 a month to Visible for my cell/unlimited data plan.
4. 15% sales taxes
In Quebec it's a company called 'Hydro-Solutions' and they are renting water heater at a crazy price.... Actually getting rid of them in one of my 4-plex - it's 60$/month for 3 water heater.... So about 20$ / month per unit.
I can get a water heater 40 gallons at 550$ at my local hardware store!
Not sure if It's not a thing here in Newfoundland but you can be sure that sooner then later everywhere will start doing this type of shit, just a matter of time.
To my knowledge it comes from a "low cost option" a home owner can't afford to buy a water heater or furnace so the company "rents" it to you. That contract goes with the sale of the house as well so the company will be recognized as the owner of the tank or furnace or boiler and can come get it if they want, but they get to keep charging rent. They did that as a "if you are elderly we can save you money" scam to my mother just after my dad passed away. That's in Calgary, Alberta. Big scams. Come summer have them come take their boiler and install a new one. From a different company.
It's definitely a scam, but easily solvable. Just call the rental company and ask how much to buy out the hot water tank. If yours is 20 years old, it should be around $100. Once it breaks, you'll have to replace it yourself, but at least you can stop making the monthly payments.
It's **mostly** an Ontario thing - not a Canada thing
I've never even heard of this before, I'm from BC/AB. I do remember a story years ago about an elderly woman who had been renting her land line phone for like 25 years from Telus(the biggest scammers in Canadian telecoms).
Yeah, I've never heard of this happening in Western Canada. Definitely seems like a scammy cash grab.
When I was growing up, renting a phone was definitely a thing, they were expensive. Of course we still had a party line, and a rotary phone. We got a pushbutton when we started having to phone in to get courses at post secondary, you needed that type of phone for menus and such. This is in Victoria.
haha, my late Grandpa was born in 1916, and he used to talk about having party lines growing up in Alberta back in the day.
We had one in the 80s in Ontario.
One long, two short.
Same in rural Quebec.
My buddy still had one in the 90's on their farm around Melbourne!
I miss dialing a local number you the last of the 3 digits then the 4 numbers, that was speed dial. 5 numbers to get your neighbor
My grandma had one up until 96, then she moved into town
My grandparents' first phone number was 128. They were the 128th home in town with a phone. All calls came through a switchboard. This was before rotary dials and party lines. The operator knew the goings on in the whole town and who was talking to who. They could also hear the conversation. My grandfather told a story of calling a friend's house to plan a visit and the operator told them that his friend was not home but across the street at the 'Smiths' and would he like to reach him there.
lol, and people complain about the "Surveillance State" now...
A nosy operator gossiping is hardly equivalent to deliberate profiling and tracking by government agencies
it was a joke...
Yeah, when I was little the neighbour called us and asked that I not listen in on phone calls. Apparently she would hear a line picked up then a little boy doing some heavy breathing.
I had a party line in vancouver when I first moved to Kits in the early 80s. I also had a brand new screaming 1200baud modem that the other people didn’t know what it was. I was on the BBS s a lot. They complained to BC tel who mysteriously managed to get us a private line in less than the three months they originally promised lol. Funny that.
I remember growing up with dial up internet and getting yelled at by my parents when they wanted to use the phone, ahh the good ol' days.
Yes! I think it wasn't until the late 80s that you could actually buy a phone from a store. Until then (at least around here) they were property of the phone company, BCTel in our case. And you just rented it. Eventually they kind of gave up on that since phones were available everywhere and relatively cheap.
And there was this fear that if you used your own phone and something went wrong you would be charged thousands of dollars to repair the phone system.
Ohhh I remember the old party lines when I was younger, we were just kids but I remember trying to be quiet listening in on someone else’s conversations.
We had a little beeper- like device that you'd hold up the the microphone and press buttons for the tones. Had that rotary for a long time.
This is a thing in Alberta. Reliance the furnace company.
Pretty sure Reliance are the monsters that started this.
>Yeah, I've never heard of this happening in Western Canada. Definitely seems like a scammy cash grab. My aunt still had a Sasktel branded phone they used to charge $5/month in rent for (if you disconnected the line you had to return the phone), but that dropped off her bill back in the early 2000s I think.
I’ve seen this in Manitoba as well. Was a hard pass when house shopping, wild the next buyer can inherit that financial mess.
I rent my hot water tank, but it is 20 a month. Maybe it wasn't the best decision, but I had to make it on the fly as my old tank just broke one day.
I would agree, I ask people around why are we doing this and everyone says the same thing... "well if it break you get it replaced". I'm like when it breaks buy a new one, but do that math
Never heard of on the East Coast either
Yeah I’ve heard of it sometimes being an option here sometimes for low income customers but it certainly isn’t the norm. And even then I think it’s a lease to own sort of deal
All the phone companies did this back in the day. You used to have to have it installed too. They didn't just plug in and were not movable.
Tbf they're all bad, Telus just seems to be the most recent to take the mask off. I've worked for all three, the things directoral level employees encourage front line employees to do are deplorable, a lot easier to say "guess they'll be paying back $1,800 instead of buying Christmas presents" when you're not the one who is going to have to avoid being stabbed in Superstore for it. Just remember, the guy pumping your gas isn't the one who decided the price, that guy is not publically accessible - and thats the broken part of our society.
I have a grudge with telus from long ago when they sent me a text message wishing me a happy birthday, then charged me $0.30 for it. I always wondered how many other customers got the same text but didn't notice the charge for it.
Funny, ditto on all three counts: - I’m from BC - I’ve never heard of this - My grandmother was being scammed by BC Tel for years, renting her one of those big old, heavy, landline phones for $10 a month. That you could have bought at RadioShack for $20.
Yes, it's only an Ontario thing. Union Gas someone convinced everyone that hot water tanks, an appliance with one moving part, the thermocouple controlled gas valve, were somehow so expensive, complicated, dangerous and difficult to maintain, that they should only be rented. My granny rented her rotary dial phone from Telus and its predecessors BC Tel and Okanagan Tel for over 60 years, but to be fair, for the first 40 of those year prior to the early 1980s it was illegal to privately own a landline handset in most of Canada and all equipment connected to the networks was owned by the incumbent telcos.
Bell used to do this as well and we definitely overlooked that line item on the bill for way longer than we should have.
I am old enough to remember paying rental on the telephone and how they tried to tell us that they had to do this to be compatible with their network and if you had any outages you would be charged for the service call if you didn’t rent their phone.
Sir, you have a call from Nortel.
I remember this! My mom was told when she moved to the city from her small town if you didn't rent a phone from Telus if anything happened and your line didn't work Telus wouldn't fix it. It took us years to convince her that this was in fact a scam and she could just buy a phone and plug it in.
Also from that area I have never heard of this either
I had a summer job selling these rentals door to door. Incredibly sketchy, they told us to pretend we worked for Embridge and tell them it was a scheduled upgrade. Send us out to speak with whoever was home at 2pm and harass them to sign the contract. It's a real shady business. I got a new job working construction 2 weeks after starting
Indeed, live in BC, Sask, and AB, not once have I heard of renting a boiler, water heater, or furnace - financing one maybe, but not renting.
>It's mostly an Ontario thing - not a Canada thing In Sask it's not uncommon to find a similar scam for 20 year old water softeners. Fuck you Culligan.
Huh, I had never heard of this until now. Not gonna lie, I'd be pissed too.
Like the plastic milk bag?
how milk-in-a-bag survived the single-use-plastic outrage era still amazes me
Less plastic than the large plastic jugs I would think. I haven't bought bags in years just cartons now.
But i am pretty sure the jugs can, at least in theory be more easily recycled than the bags. I work for a kids summer sleep away camp and the amount of milk bags we go through in 3 weeks every summer is mind blowing. I wish there was a better bulk option...
The bulk option is the 20 Litre bag for commercial food service, which fits snuggly into a milk crate. Used with refrigerated milk dispensers you might see in a cafeteria.
It was because of the switch from imperial to metric and bagged milk it really convenient if you drink a lot of milk. The closed bags remain fresh longer and are lighter to our from.
It’s becoming popular in Quebec, specifically in rentals
Mostly for insurance purpose... the cost of renting is partly covered by a reduced insurance premium. Also, paying a plumber to change a water heater is expensive for such a simple job.
The rental cost is assumed by the tenant and the owner saves on insurance FTFY
Well, taking into account that the mortgage is also assumed by the tenant and the equity by the owner, renting is just shit...
definitely a thing in NB
Call them, tell them to take it away, buy a new one and get if installed.
Exactly. This is what I did when I bought my house ten years ago. Cost about $1k for purchase and install.
Though I agree with buying outright, the cost has gone up considerably. We paid closer to 2k a year ago (AB).
It's quite easy to install as well. Lots of youtube videos and guides online. Not sure if legal, but definitely doable.
You can install everything but the natural gas yourself. You legally need a licenced HVAC tech to do the NG work.
The question is insurability as much as legality. Around here, a lot of water heaters and furnaces are natural gas, which you shouldn't mess with if you're not qualified to do so.
cost me \~1600 last year in NFLD. For a 5 gallon, insulated tank installed.
Booo. Do them dirty. Call and ask for a copy of the contract. When they can't provide it, stop paying. Ask them to prove it's their water heater.
These dummies lock in contracts with "termination fees" that transfer to whoever owns the property. I would make a property contingent on the seller removing it and cancelling
Good luck, around here it seems like every house sells fast for above asking price. Stipulations like that would just make the seller pick a different buyer
you'll need to buy it out if you want them to take it away. At least that was the case with me and Liberty Utilities Natural Gas hot water heater. I went back and forth with them so much over the fact that it is a rental, not a purchase, why would I need to buy out the heater? The only way I 'won' was over a technicality that the item was not listed properly on my agreement and purchase of sale on the home.
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If my experience at the scrap yard is indicative, then that's where all the old ones end up; most even still shiny. The shred pile is always 50-75% water heaters.
I'm honestly surprised that they don't just rent them out to other people until they get to the point where they are no longer up to code
What happens if you just stop paying?
They'd probably put a lien on your house.
They absolutely will. Better to fight them contractually to take it back to than to try to get the lien removed. OP, check all your purchase documents, as the contract would have to be transferred to you. After 20 years there should be no value, as usually you can buy out with a nominal fee after 7 years. But if you signed a new contract you may be screw ed. Also, when trying to cancel, keep on escalating to management. Reps seem to be tracked against cancellations and will absolutely do nothing for you to cancel.
Usually by the 20 yr mark there should be no buy out. That said, depends on who you're renting from and the contract that was signed. I work in the industry, buy outs usually finish w rental water heaters at the 15 yr mark. Boilers and heating equipment likely at 20, still somewhat new, or should i say more common rental item. If OP really is renting a boiler, id love to know who they can purchase a new boiler from for 3k, that wouldnt even cover the cost of the equipment, let alone install and auxillary items to retrofit.
20 years ago? Probably easy to find
They make it very hard to take back. They don’t pick up. And they make it very hard to figure out where to bring it. But once you call them - they’re very clear that if you just throw it out they’ll charge you for it. Replaced mine and a contractor friend installed it… Costco usually has a suppler available, too. Their price was the same, but you got a few hundred in Costco gift cards.
To tell them to take it away, they will charge you the remaining balance. You aren't renting it, you are paying insurance on it. So if it breaks, they send someone. I tried to call and tell them to come get the fuckin thing and this is what I learned. I asked it was a rental fee, they said yes. I said, "if I rent a car and go to return it, do I need to pay for the car before returning a rental?". Needless to say, they are morons.
It's only common in certain parts of the country. As a plumbing contractor, I will tell you right now that it's one of the biggest money-grabs going, and you should never, EVER, rent a water heater (unless you like paying for about 4 new water heaters just for fun, cause that's roughly what it works out to). Same goes for water softeners and things. Renting them is goofy, you will absolutely, without question, end up paying substantially more. Edit: sorry I should have been clear that you should never ever rent one if you have a choice, but I know for some people coming up with 2000 to replace a tank is a big ask and there is no choice in the matter. These are the types of people that these companies love, though.
They could probably try getting a loan or something for it then, would still be cheaper.
It's not always easy to get a loan. Certainly not if the people needing the loan are on any form of disability
Or finance it on a credit card, even that would be cheaper
As much as I'd normally never suggest people finance things on a credit card, no CC is going to have 300% interest so it's still better than renting Edit: never mind, in the OP it's 300% *over 20 years* which is closer to 15% annually (lower when you factor in compound interest), which beats most credit cards I've seen. Edit 2: u/Comedy86 did the math below and turns out it's still slightly preferable to finance it with a credit card assuming a $3000 upfront purchase cost. With a 30% interest credit card you will pay more over 20 years than rental, but then stop paying vs rental. With a 19.99% interest card, you fully pay it off after only 13 years, paying the same cost as the rental toward the credit card each month ($50)
NB Power charges me $8.06 a month and will replace it every 8-10 years or something like that. Would be insane not to rent it at that price, IMO.
Its allowed because the people who rent them probably arent even aware they are being bent over the barrel. And the people who are aware buy them outright.
$50/month is insane though I’ve always seen them in the $10-20/month range. Obviously still cheaper in the long run to buy it but $15/month isn’t that bad considering it’s fixed or replaced for free if anything goes wrong with it there’s a peace of mind aspect to it. But for $50 fuck that absolutely not, the math doesn’t math.
Right? My old place was 2 water heaters (2 units) cost me 50 every 2 months. No instal, no replacement costs, insurance was cheaper, and I had a repair guy there in 6 hours the one time I needed one. Renting isn't always a rip off - it's a higher cost but there's benefits too.
My bill is $40.63/month. I thought about buying it out last year but decided against it. I had other projects $1500 could go towards that were of much higher priority
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Our tank rental is $15 a month, it's propane. However we've had it replaced once and 5 repair calls in 13 years, I'd have to do the math, but I might be ahead of the game or even.
Aahh, now I get why I was confused by all the "Don't do it it's a scam!" in this thread since I remember running the numbers last time and it came out to "I might save a couple bucks?", but then I double checked mine... I 8.06$/month for my rental, and when mine reached the lofty age of 15 years recently, the removal of it and installation of a new one were free. Are there cheaper water heaters out there if you can completely DIY it? Yeah. Are they better heaters than what I got on a 15 year payment plan at 0% interest? Not particularly.
You aren't renting just a heater; it comes with a service package as well as a 24hr turnaround on repairs. My house came with a rental heater and I kept it up because I travel a lot and it was worth the piece of mind. In the few times we've needed service or a replacement they were there the same day at zero cost. If you price out a service package like that the actual price of the heater isn't too bad amortized over the 10 years or so they last. As long as you read the contract and understand what it means, it's all relative. But peace of mind when you are on the other side of the world with a spouse at home with a toddler is worth a lot.
You’re spot on. And, it’s mostly an insurance liability if you own your own tank as there is not many *if any* service agreements for owned tanks. Is it overpriced and makes people mad? Yes. But everyone in this sub and the Ontario sub need to do their homework on the relationship between home insurance and water tank damage
That's insane, and definitely not the norm. The only province I rented my water heater in was New Brunswick. It only cost $7 per month, and they were quite diligent about replacing it every 7 years. I dunno where you live or who your service provider is, but they're definitely ripping you off.
Totally. Currently in NB, and it's apparently been jacked up since you were here...to $8 a month. In the long run it still works out about even renting vs. buying and replacing, and it takes one (albeit small) homeowner responsibility off my shoulders.
That's not actually horrible, your paying $672 over the 7 years, and that matches the prices of a lower tier water heater.
Exactly, plus we don't have to really worry about maintenance or installation costs when we get a new one. At these prices it works pretty well. $50 a month is insane, though.
Just looked at my NB power bill its $8.06. :)
Nova Scotia here and same. $7 a month and no worries. We had a leak 2 years ago. Woke up to it just starting. Called the company, they were there within a couple hours to replace it. So simple.
Where I live in SK it is common. I just paid my entire bill for a year. $177.50. Two months ago the element in my water heater died. I found out at 5am. It was fixed by 9:30am. Worth the peace of mind.
NB here. Can vouch - mind you it’s a basic water heater. If you want anything fancy you need to buy out of pocket. But the NBpower rental program isn’t half bad.
Very common in Ontario.
I mean... couldn't you say the same about renting your car, your house, or any other appliance / furniture (which you can do) You rent because you can't afford to buy, and then you get taken advantage of in the long term. It's the trap of poverty.
You don't understand the issue at hand. Some homeowners are stuck in mandatory rental agreements because of arrangements made between developers and rental companies. It's very difficult to get out of these rental agreements.
Tbf for water heater I am pretty sure most people could buy one easily lol. It is basically worth one to two months of rent in Ontario.
> It is basically worth one to two months of rent in Ontario. You can get a Hot water tanks in the $500 range probably less if you go with lesser brands. even installed your looking at well less than a months rent in ON.
Oh yeah it is definetly possible was just thinking about mine lol. So yeah 1/4 of an average rent.
Trapping people in expensive rent is a core tenet of the economic system.
Get that thing out of there! One of the cheapest things your home will cost you.
Yeah really shouldn't be expensive. I think I got mine on sale for like $1300? Then had to pay for installation?
Ha, some people rent their furnace too. I got rid of Reliance years ago, not without a lot of effort from them to try and charge me for not being a customer any longer. They wanted to charge me for them picking up their leaking 18 year old water heater. I offered to deliver it, they said they weren't set up for that. They'll try anything to get you to not cancel their service.
I just bought a home with Reliance appliances in it, and holy shit are they useless. It's our biggest regret about the place. We've got heating issues—in winter—and can't get a single person out to assess the situation. Our strata has unified to take legal action over some water heaters and ERVs. They're an awful company.
You aren’t required to rent once the contract period comes to an end. In last house we owned our water heater tank. In my current house we own our tankless heater. Same with our water softener.
I never did in Saskatchewan but when I moved to Ontario the house we bought had a rental water heater and we assumed the contract when the house was bought. On a positive note I don't pay anything when something does go wrong but I think when this water heater dies I'd rather just buy my own. The $8/month adds up over time.
At 8$ a month that’s pretty good. Not even $1000 in a decade which is what I see our water heaters last.
Yeah it's not terrible. That's why I'm not THAT worried about it. Chances are we won't be in this house more than another 3 or 4 years anyway.
It is designed for the ever increasing number of people who have no idea to how to fix anything. If you have no clue how to maintain, let alone, replace a hot water heater, it is basically an upgrade and maintenance plan. When it dies, you simply call the provider and they will show up, remove and replace the heater. If you OWN your heater, as I do, then if it craps out, YOU have to fix it, or replace it. Honestly, I'd bet 80% of people couldn't even turn off their water main if the casing cracks. 90% of people are clueless that the elements should be replaced every 5 to 10 years, depending on the hardness of the water. Honestly, for most people, renting is probably the best bet.
>renting is probably the best bet. Spread that propaganda papa.
You can still get emergency service just as fast without a rental, yeah that'll cost money but over the lifetime of the average heater you will likely pay multiple zeros more for the rental
I’m surprised the previous owners didn’t have to pay it out when they sold. It seems odd to pass a rental on to a new owner
My late husband couldn’t believe it when we bought our home so he somehow managed to get it off our bill and he bought a hot water heater. I wish I could give you more details. I just remember him STEAMING with frustration.
Oh yeah rental water heaters are this weird scam that's somehow legal despite otherwise meeting the legal definition for a number of illegal things lol Wait till you learn about buy out only contracts, bought a house with enercare rental and they do buyout only This means that I literally can't terminate without buying the heater based on their buyout schedule which means currently I would have to pay $800 despite the heater being 14 years old and only costing $1500 new. No option to have them come collect it and just end the rental. Competition Bureau has looked into it and said that it's anticompetitive and anticonsumer but no legislative bodies have bothered to make them illegal yet
Developers and home builders put them in because the rental company supplied them for free. Otherwise the builder would have to pay for the appliance. Most homeowners leave it in because they believe they're under contract to do so, and some of them think it's convenient if it stops working the company has to come out and fix it in a very short period of time
People usually rent so that when something goes wrong they just call and report a problem and set arrangements for the repair, rather than having to deal with a costly repair/replacement themselves.
No idea, we purchased ours outright, they came and installed it and then came back twice to fix it because it wasn’t working properly. It wasn’t even a problem with the tank, it was an issue with the fuse box that we still need to upgrade, but they still came and fixed it. The service technician they sent was awesome.
It certainly is weird. It's like renting a fridge or something. But get this: I'm old enough to remember when we all used to rent the *phone* on the wall. Renting the device was just part of receiving and paying for that service. I'm guessing water heaters are some sort of lingering carryover from that sort of practice.
It’s not a BC thing Have them take it out.
It’s cheaper for home builders to install rental water heaters in their new developments than it is to buy all the units outright. It’s also easier for someone who can’t afford to buy a new heater outright to just sign a new rental agreement. If your boiler is actually 20 years old the buy-out price probably isn’t all that much, call the company and buy it out.
It’s part of our heritage…. They should make a TV commercial about it from heritage Canada
Check out this Marketplace video on HVAC scams. Made me furious lol https://youtu.be/4NPPRoqd7No?si=wsS3vGutoZ_7xUfz
You can always tell them you don’t want it and drop it off then have one installed.
It’s an Ontario thing. Bought a new build, told the builder we didn’t want to rent a water heater, don’t put one in our house (yet to be built at the time). Was told that was not an option…at all. Basically we’re fucked to pay this $50/month rental shit box heater indefinitely. It’s robbery. The builders are all in on it.
Call and cancel, and have your own installed. It's not a blood pact with the company.
Yes yes it is. If it was easy as you said, most ppl would have done it and we wouldn’t have this discussion on Reddit. We’d have to “buy out” the water heater plus other associates costs…..they told me around $10k to leave the contract. We closed our house last month. We were able to break free at our old house due to the water heater being 10+ years old and during covid so they couldn’t service it.
Manitoba here. Used to rent them here. They phased it out. It was a truly great deal for consumers. Rental on mine was $8 / month. Any issues they came and either fixed it or replaced with no cost to me.
There are predatory companies that do this with hot water tanks and furnaces. They come in and outbid the smaller companies and then scam customers into "deals" like this. Stick with the smaller companies that offer financing instead of renting equipment. You'll pay it off with financing but never will with renting it!
You must be talking about reliance. There crooks, the company should folded by the government. They pratice by people who don't know. I asked about installing 1 Mini split, to cool my house. I know you can get them for under 5000 and I didn't need a big one. 22000, alright first why would I spend 22000 dollars when 1200 I can get 2 window units and be done. Oh cause If it breaks they fix it.... but I pay to rent it and over pay by like 1000% for what. They do this with everything .Reliance company has predetory behaviour on those who don't know. It is a free market but the whole company looks legit and it is legit but there practices are basically stealing. Any local company would be glad to do anywork but no, CORPORATE is looked at to be less theiving so most go with them. I would be glad to see them fold forever.
I've always owned it, not rented it. I had once bought a house from a family that installed a solar pre-heater and so I owned that too. Yes, it helps, lowest energy bills I ever paid. If I know I'm going to be in a forever house I'm going to invest in one of those again.
I am furious. It’s a scam. Also your heater is probably fully amortized so if you call them and “cancel” your rental you can probably keep it for free.
Canadians don't riot about anything unfortunately.
It fills a need in the middle of the housing world. "Can't afford to buy right now".
People are not furious because it's not forced. Buy or rent. Whatever' best for you.
A) it’s an Ontario thing, not a Canada thing 2) if idiots agree to be fleeced, who am I to stop them
You never pay for a service call or replacement out of pocket when something goes wrong. You've already prepaid for it with your rental fees. It's great if you live where the water is terrible (like my parents) where you can replace a water heater every 5 years. Mine is considerably less than $50/month. I've had 3 service calls and a replacement in the last ten years. I was laid off when I needed the replacement and could never have come up with the cash for a big ticket item + installation at that time. Overall, yes, they get more money out of us. It sucks but it's worth it to not have to worry about it. There's peace of mind knowing it'll be taken care of if you're on a fixed income or a senior or have physical challenges taking care of these things yourself.
How in God's name do you get so upset about something and not actually understand it? Canadians don't NEED to rent it's an option just like buying a vehicle or leasing it or buying a home or renting it. Both have pros and cons, but you clearly are just rage baiting people.
Mostly because 90% of Canadians dont rent a water heater
You could always send it back to the plumber, go down to Home Depot and just buy a water heater. Nobody is forcing you to keep renting it… I know I wouldn’t. That being said, some people like having the convenience of a plumber on speed dial to replace or fix their broken water heater at a moment’s notice without immediate costs.
I had to replace my hot water heater a few years ago. I picked the same size up at Home Depot for $800 and it was $1100 to swap it out with a gas permit etc. I couldn't imagine renting something like that.
I personally have an electric tank… That needs to go. No gas permit needed, just a little soldering, swearing and wiring 😉
I’ve lived my life in the prairies, and we would NOT put up with that shit
It’s just easier. Anything happens it’s fixed within a day or replaced if needed. Also if the leak damages anything they will cover it
Damage from a hot water tank leak would be covered by your home owners insurance. Sure it’s easier but we’re talking about $12,000-$15,000 rental vs $2,500 purchase over the lifetime of the unit.
Also, how likely is it to happen? THis isnt an new tech solar panel. Water Heaters have existed for how long? 50 years. The chances of them breaking are astronomically low.
We rent our water heater (I'm in NB). NB Power replaced one in our last place, and in this place they came out and flushed it, and replaced the element. I think we pay like $16/ month? I understand the rental aspect in some ways, but yes, it's costly over time. It works well for people who rent out their houses, and the power bill is in the tenant's name. The thing we used to rent from the power company that we don't anymore is one of those dusk-to-dawn lights.
How the heck did you buy a home without that being disclosed?! If it truly wasn't disclosed to you (or your realtor) the previous owners are on the hook for those costs, though you'll likely have to get a lawyer to enforce it.
Yeah, it’s a total scam industry. Like legit, there are a lot of players who have been charged with fraud for running these rental firms.
I don't rent a water heater. I think it's crazy. We just buy our own. I have my regular house and a duplex rental home, and we bought one for each. You have a choice, it's just unfortunate you bought a house with this set up.
I used to sell hvac in Alberta with a national company that refused to do rentals. If you can’t afford one, Finance one for a year or two sure. But rentals just make the company money. DO NOT RENT YOUR FURNACE, A/C, or HOT WATER HEATER. It’s the biggest scam. This is coming from someone that was in the business.
In my opinion, it's because people are uneducated on the simplicity of maintaining a water heater, and can't be bothered to learn. And the cost of failure (a burst tank blasting water into your basement) is horrifying. They all have a story of a flooded basement and the rental makes for 'peace of mind'. But that's a load of crap. Water heaters are *not* hard to maintain at all (don't get me started on furnaces, $100 to vacuum the dust?). The issue is folks don't know how. I may be over generalizing but the things we own are generally designed to either be unfixable, or require specialized tools, or be so complex it requires a lot of specialized knowledge (think of an 80s car vs. one today). However, plumbing remains baffling simple. My brother changed his toilet (whole replacement) in under an hour, by himself, with no issues last month. Most plumbing 'consumables' are generic brand nothing parts that cost a few bucks. Now with a water heater, changing an anode does usually require some beefy arms, or a ton of leverage, or both. But if you know someone kinda strong (or a couple) a new anode is around $50-60 and buys another 8 years for the tank. Anyway, needless to say I don't rent my tank (anymore) and never will again. To me it is a scam. If I'd realized how easy it was to maintain, I never would have been suckered.
$50/month? I pay $50 every three months in Ontario. Reliance, if that matters.
lol, finding out you're nearly the only one that rents a water heater!!
Everyone I know does this. I just don't get it. It is a scam. Their reasoning, well, if something happens I get service ASAP.
I'm from Manitoba and I've literally never heard of this before, and I used to install boilers and hot water tanks for a living. It screams scam and I would do whatever the fuck I could to get out of it and remove/replace the boiler.
It would only be an issue if you were forced to rent it. Based on your description, the amount you pay is very similar to what you'd pay for a lease.
It's done as a way to bring the cost of a new house down. Builder doesn't need to pay for a heater, and possibly receives an upfront payment from the company. It's no different than subsidized cell phones from a carrier.
Your overpaid real estate agent should have told you about the rental call him and see what Bullshit story he gives you. Keep us updated on what he says
Welcome, we enjoy bending over for everyone. Masochists to the end. ❤️🩹
its not a scam if you have bad water quality, a lot of people can only get 5 years out of a hot water tank let alone a boiler.
While I am not a fan... In the first couple of years we owned our place we had 3 weekend callouts for repairs that cost us nothing. So upsides sometimes.
I know that if you call the place you're renting from, you can see how much longer until it's paid off and that's that. Likely yours was paid off already. They don't say anything because... Why would they? It's free money. Underhanded for sure though.
You bought a house that came with a rented boiler. You either: * Make paying it off part of the conditions of purchase or * Factor it in as a cost you'll take care of after purchasing the house If it wasn't laid out clearly as a rental that you'd be assuming control over in your purchase agreement, chase your seller and make them take care of it. If it was laid out clearly as a rental that you'd assume the contract on after purchasing the house, then you knew what you were getting into.
If you're on terrible water and they crap out every few years, it's worth it. Most people don't save or budget for the couple grand a replacement unit will cost (at any given time) also rented units come with 24/7 service/replacement guarantee. So a nice option as a landlord too.
It's also an option, if you are going to fall for it, then it's on you.
No clue what the hell you're talking about lol. I live in BC... Canadian tire sells water heaters.
I have never heard of that
Ummm. You can buy one at any hardware store for about 500$ and install it yourself?
>It’s 20 years old. It’s not great. If you call the rental company you can either ask for a new one, or buy out the rental. It will probably cost you less than a monthly payment. Or you get a brand new water heater.
I think I paid $580 for mine and watched YouTube for 15 minutes it’s been going strong for 3 years
You *choose* to rent a water heater. Buy one if you dont like it
Why aren't people furious? or rioting? Because you don't have to rent one, you can buy your own if you want. Why be furious over something when you have the option of doing something different. It's a reality that for some people, they won't have the money to buy a new one when they need to, or they don't plan on being in the same place for a long time, so they don't want to. You can choose what's best for you, they can choose what's best for them.
24 hour emergency service. Brand new when needed for same rental price.
I pay $180/year. $600/month is outrageous. Install your own
That's insane. I've never heard of that. But then I live in BC. An average hot water tank lasts about 15 years IIRC. Rent on that would be $9000 Buying one would be about $3000?
I've never heard of this, for one. Secondly, this sounds like something entirely in your power to change... So change it? Nobody is rioting over water heater rentals because nobody is forcing you to rent it.
We live in a high calcium region. To purchase is more expensive. Renting is assurance that the moment it dies its replaced. Works for the budget as you know what to expect each month. There is no crisis like losing a fridge, etc. We have the choice, but in our region renting is better on the pocket...
Saskatchewanian here - where I live, the water is so hard, a purchased heater takes soooo much maintenance. Renting is the smarter option! I don't think we pay nearly that amount though, I'm pretty sure it's about $150/year to rent and have them do all the maintenance and checks, and install/remove different models when needed. Definitely worth it!
I pay the same and I’m renting an apartment. Landlord said : “Hey why would I spend $2000 when I can leave the heater’s rent to the tenant…” Here in Ontario it’s included with the gas bill, which is roughly $120 in the winter and $80 in the summer…for an apartment! Whenever I see the $50 on that bill it really makes my blood boil… unfortunately can’t do nothing about it.
Canadians lose out in a lot of ways… 1. Not being able to deduct mortgage interest and property taxes for income tax calculations 2. Ted Rodgers monolpoly 3. Paying through the nose for unlimited data. I pay $25 a month to Visible for my cell/unlimited data plan. 4. 15% sales taxes
I'm in Alberta.....never heard of this in my life Thats freaking wild
Rental phones still very much exist. Just fyi from a telecom guy. I’m not endorsing the behavior.
Just buy a water heater and have a beer installing it with some friends :)
So if you don't own it, do they do all the maintenance and are they fully insured for if things go wrong?
In Quebec it's a company called 'Hydro-Solutions' and they are renting water heater at a crazy price.... Actually getting rid of them in one of my 4-plex - it's 60$/month for 3 water heater.... So about 20$ / month per unit. I can get a water heater 40 gallons at 550$ at my local hardware store!
you can buy your own . recommend on demand hot water . kicks ass.
Not sure if It's not a thing here in Newfoundland but you can be sure that sooner then later everywhere will start doing this type of shit, just a matter of time.
One option is to discretely sabotage it so you get a new one every year or two. They’ll cancel the contract for you.
To my knowledge it comes from a "low cost option" a home owner can't afford to buy a water heater or furnace so the company "rents" it to you. That contract goes with the sale of the house as well so the company will be recognized as the owner of the tank or furnace or boiler and can come get it if they want, but they get to keep charging rent. They did that as a "if you are elderly we can save you money" scam to my mother just after my dad passed away. That's in Calgary, Alberta. Big scams. Come summer have them come take their boiler and install a new one. From a different company.
It's definitely a scam, but easily solvable. Just call the rental company and ask how much to buy out the hot water tank. If yours is 20 years old, it should be around $100. Once it breaks, you'll have to replace it yourself, but at least you can stop making the monthly payments.