Blog · Kitchener
Renting your water heater from Kitchener Utilities: keep it, buy it out, or replace it?
Kitchener is one of the few Ontario cities where the City itself rents water heaters, through Kitchener Utilities. If you have a rental charge on your utility bill, here is what the agreement says and how to think about the three options.
Last updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Kitchener Plumbing Co. team
How the Kitchener Utilities rental works
Kitchener Utilities, the City-owned gas and water utility, rents conventional chimney-vented, power-vented, direct-vented, tankless and electric water heaters, plus combination units that also heat the house. The monthly rental shows up on the same bill as your gas and water. Repairs and maintenance on a rented unit are booked through Kitchener Utilities.
The terms and conditions spell out a few points that matter when you are deciding what to do next:
- Kitchener Utilities owns the heater. The agreement says title is not transferred to you while you rent.
- Only their authorized representatives may service it. A private plumber repairing a rented unit is outside the agreement.
- You can buy it at any time. If you do, you accept it "as is", subject to whatever transferable manufacturer's warranty is left.
- The rental ends when the heater's useful life ends. If it is not replaced at that point, the agreement says you then own the old heater.
- Disconnection and disposal at end of life are charged according to Kitchener Utilities' current fee schedule.
- Changing the type or size of heater means ending the existing agreement and signing a new one.
Option 1: keep renting
Renting makes sense if you want no surprises and do not plan to be in the house long. The utility handles repairs on its equipment, and a failed tank is its problem to replace. It also makes sense for a heater that is still fairly new, because you are paying for a unit with plenty of life left.
Kitchener Utilities has also been running offers tied to condensing (high-efficiency) rental water heaters, including bill credits for switching. Conditions apply and offers change, so check the current offers page before you decide.
Option 2: buy out the existing heater
A buyout usually only makes sense for a heater with meaningful life left and a buyout figure that is lower than the rent you would otherwise pay over those years. Ask Kitchener Utilities for the buyout figure and the install date, which is on the label on the tank. Then weigh it against Kitchener's hard water. Tanks here collect scale quickly, and a tank that has never been flushed or had its anode checked can be closer to the end than its age suggests.
Once you own it, any plumber can service it, and you are responsible for maintenance and eventual replacement.
Option 3: end the rental and install your own
This is the choice most people are actually making when the old heater fails or they are finishing a basement and want a different setup. The sequence matters:
- Contact Kitchener Utilities to end the agreement and ask how the rented unit will be disconnected and returned, and what fee applies.
- Decide on the replacement. In Kitchener that usually means a power-vent tank (the typical replacement where the old chimney is no longer suitable), a tankless unit, or an electric tank.
- Have the new heater installed by a plumber, with the gas connection made by a licensed gas technician.
The plumber behind this site handles water heater installation of tank, power-vent and tankless units, and will give you an honest view of whether a buyout, a new rental or an owned heater makes more sense for your house. Planning ranges for each type are in the Kitchener plumbing cost guide.
Selling the house with a rental heater
Under the Kitchener Utilities terms, if you sell, you must tell the buyer about the rental and give them a copy of the agreement. You are released from the agreement once the buyer agrees, in writing or by their conduct, to keep renting it. Deal with this in the purchase agreement so it does not become a closing-week surprise. If the buyer does not want a rental, buying it out or replacing it before listing may be simpler.
Watch out for door-to-door water heater sales
Ontario bans businesses from offering or selling water heaters at your home unless you started the contact. If you call a company in for a repair or maintenance visit, they are not allowed to sign you to a new heater contract on the spot. If you did invite a company to your home to buy or lease a water heater, you still get a 10-day cooling-off period from the day you receive a written copy of the agreement. Ontario's Homeowner Protection Act also stops companies from registering a Notice of Security Interest on your home for consumer goods such as a water heater.
If someone knocks on your door in Forest Heights or Doon claiming your rental heater needs an urgent swap, check the agreement and phone Kitchener Utilities directly using the number on your bill.
Getting a second opinion
If the rented heater is leaking, you have no hot water, or you just want to know how much life the tank has left before deciding, describe the situation. If the unit is still a rental, the plumber will tell you when the call belongs to Kitchener Utilities instead.