Water Heater Replacement in the GTA: Rent or Buy?

In most GTA houses, buying beats renting on money before the tank wears out. Enercare's published 2026 rate for a conventional-vent 40-gallon gas tank is $25.87 a month plus HST, $310 a year before tax. The same class of tank installed runs $1,200 (Reliance) to $3,200 (Tornado Plumbing). That is a crossover at 3.9 to 10.3 years, against a tank that should last 12 to 16. Renting wins in one case: you cannot absorb a surprise repair. Enercare's own estimate for a customer-owned tank is $827 for a venter assembly and $526 for a gas valve. And if your rented tank is 15 years old or more, skip to the buyout section: Enercare's schedule prices it at $100 flat.

Renting is the GTA default, not a choice most people made

Most GTA households did not shop for a water heater. They inherited a contract that transfers with the property. Enercare says it has installed water heaters for "more than one million customers"; Reliance Home Comfort says "over 2 million customers" call on it for hot water. Both figures are the companies' own. So your real choice is rarely "rent or buy new". It is "keep renting, buy out the tank I have, or replace it with one I own".

What the two paths cost in 2026

Enercare publishes a residential rate card, Reliance ranges by model, and three GTA installers price bands for the same equipment bought outright.

Enercare's rates are plus HST, Ontario's HST is 13%, and installer quotes are normally pre-tax too: tax lands on both sides and does not move the crossover.

The break-even, by tank type

Divide the installed price by twelve months of rent, using Enercare's 2026 rate against the installer bands above.

• Conventional-vent gas (CV40). $25.87 × 12 = $310.44 a year. Against Reliance's own $1,200 low end that is 3.9 years; against Tornado Plumbing's $2,200–$3,200 Toronto band, 7.1 to 10.3 years.
• Power-vent gas (PV50). $40.87 × 12 = $490.44 a year against $1,700 installed (Reliance) to $6,000 (Anta Plumbing): 3.5 to 12.2 years.
• Tankless gas (Rinnai RX 199IN). $53.23 × 12 = $638.76 a year against $2,700 (Reliance) to $8,500 (Anta): 4.2 to 13.3 years.
• Electric (EL40). $19.29 × 12 = $231.48 a year against $1,000 (Reliance) to $4,500 (Anta): 4.3 to 19.4 years. Electric is the one case where renting genuinely competes.

Two things pull the crossover earlier. Rental rates rise: Enercare's 2026 schedule caps unlisted residential tanks at "a maximum increase of 3.93% over the 2025 rates". And the tank lasts: Reliance says 14 to 16 years, Tornado Plumbing 12 to 15 with annual flushing.

If you already rent, price the buyout, not a new tank

Enercare publishes its whole buyout schedule by model and age. A CV40 at 10 to 11 years old buys out for $787, 2.5 years of rent at $310.44 a year. If the tank has three good years left, buying out wins by about $144 (3 × $310.44 = $931, less the $787). But Enercare's own estimates for customer-owned tanks put a gas valve at $526 and a venter assembly at $827. One repair erases that gain several times over.

The age brackets that are not close:

• 15 years and older: $100 flat, for every model in the schedule: conventional, power-vent, direct-vent, tankless, electric. Against $310 a year for a CV40 that is under four months of rent; against a PV50 at $490 a year, under three months.
• 13 to 15 years old. A CV40 is $182 to $347. That is 7 to 13 months of rent. A PV50 is $251 to $477, or 6 to 12 months.

Take those even if you plan to replace the tank soon: you stop the monthly charge, and you are not negotiating a contract exit in a flooded basement.

To end an Enercare agreement you must call before the tank is removed (1-855-658-5700), leave the rating plate attached, and drop the unit at a return depot; termination then follows your contract. The province warns that switching suppliers means "there may be fees for ending your current contract and having your existing product or service removed". Enercare's own 2026 promotion offers a $500 card to reimburse a competitor's "account closure charges", which tells you how large those get.

Your rights if the contract started at your door

Since 1 March 2018, water heaters (along with furnaces, air conditioners, water softeners, filters and duct cleaning) "cannot be offered or sold at your home unless you initiate the transaction". If a company came to your door and you signed, the province's position is unambiguous: "the contract will be considered void and you can keep the goods or services without obligation", and if a third party charges you to remove the equipment, "the business is required to reimburse you for those charges".

Three deadlines:

1. 10 days. Cancel any in-home contract over $50 for any reason, from the day you receive a written copy.
2. One year. If you never got a written contract, it is missing required information, or the salesperson made a false or misleading statement.
3. No deadline on a void contract that came from restricted door-to-door marketing.

Check your title too. Suppliers used to register a Notice of Security Interest against it; the Homeowner Protection Act banned consumer NOSIs on 6 June 2024 and deemed every existing one expired. The province says "the land is not affected by the NOSI" and no action is needed. Ignore anyone phoning to remove one for a fee.

Permits and who is allowed to touch a gas tank

Toronto. The city's list of work that does not require a building permit includes "the installation of additional cooling systems, gas fireplaces, air cleaners, in-line humidifiers, or hot water tanks in a house" and "repairing and replacing plumbing fixtures". A like-for-like swap is not a permit job. Change the venting type, the gas piping or the fuel and you are into stand-alone plumbing or HVAC permit territory. Toronto's Group C HVAC flat fee starts at $214.79 as of 1 January 2026.

Mississauga and Brampton name water heaters on neither list. Mississauga requires a permit for an HVAC system or a plumbing fixture "added, removed or relocated", and exempts "plumbing fixture replacement in the same location". Brampton's no-permit list covers replacing a forced-air furnace with no duct changes but says nothing about tanks; its building division is at 905-874-2401.

The gas rule is provincial, with one narrow exemption. Under O. Reg. 215/01, "no person shall perform the functions of a certificate holder without first having obtained a certificate from the director". A G.2 holder may install, alter, repair or remove a gas appliance of 400,000 BTU/h or less, which is every residential water heater. TSSA administers those certificates; there is a homeowner carve-out, and it is narrower than it sounds. O. Reg. 215/01 s. 55(1)1 exempts "installing or servicing an appliance in a detached dwelling that is owned and occupied by the person": detached only, so not a semi, town or condo, and owner-occupied only, so not a rental you own. Even then the same paragraph bars you from switching it on: you "shall not activate a newly installed appliance until" a certificate holder confirms it complies with O. Reg. 212/01. Ask for the technician's certificate number and the contractor's TSSA registration.

What actually moves the price

The tank is the cheap part. The variables:

• Venting. Atmospheric flue to power-vent adds $400 to $800 in Toronto; sealed direct-vent adds $700 to $1,200. Replacing an old single-wall metal flue runs $400 to $1,200.
• Moving the tank. Rerouting supply lines when the new unit does not sit where the old one did adds $400 to $1,500. Tight condo closets and crawl spaces add $200 to $800 for pans and access.
• Gas line, for tankless. A tankless unit fires far harder than a tank. Upsizing to a ¾-inch line runs $800 to $2,000. It is the biggest budget-buster on GTA tank-to-tankless conversions.
• Electrical. Whole-house electric tankless needs a dedicated 40-to-60-amp circuit; a 100A to 200A panel upgrade is $1,000 to $2,500 in Toronto.
• Code items and disposal. Expansion tank, drip pan, full-port shutoffs: $200 to $500, often bundled. Old-unit disposal $75 to $300.
• Water hardness. Tornado Plumbing puts Toronto tap water at 120–140 mg/L as calcium carbonate; skipping the annual flush can cut a 12-to-15-year tank to 6 to 8 years, destroying the buy-side math.

Start with the rating plate

Find the model number and install date on the plate on your tank, then look it up in Enercare's 2026 buyout table or call Reliance's billing department. If the buyout is under a year of rent, take it. If the tank is under eight years old and you rent power-vent or tankless at $38 to $61 a month, get two installed quotes from TSSA-registered contractors and compare them against the buyout, not the rent.