Don’t Automatically Consent to Assume the Hot Water Tank Rental

A new trend which is becoming more common in residential purchase agreements is for purchasers not to automatically agree to assume the hot water tank rental. It is the owner who has entered into the rental agreement and in many cases the terms are not attractive. As a purchaser you should give yourself the option to review the contract before consenting to assume the contract.

It is interesting to note that two companies that rent hot water tanks in Ontario have had proceedings commenced against them by the Competition Bureau under the abuse of dominance provisions of the Competition Act. Both Direct Energy Marketing Limited and Reliance Comfort Limited Partnership are named in this proceeding seeking $25 million, alleging that they each intentionally implemented anti-competitive practices related to their hot water tank return policies and procedures aimed at preventing consumers from switching to competitors and, therefore, forcing them to continue their rental agreements with each of them.

You can access a copy of the Notice of Application filed by the Competition Bureau against Direct Energy by clicking here.

You can also access a short blog which was posted by Advocate Daily by clicking here.