I've read your response to others that you bought the replacement outright, but I wonder if the original renter was about to sell their house and needed a water heater. Saddling the future with this debt could be cheaper than buying it outright.

[–] phoneymouse@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Probably this… if you’re not going to benefit from the new water heater, you’d probably be tempted to pass it off to the next owner. Renting is a way to do that.

[–] madjo@feddit.nl 3 points 2 weeks ago

I don't know. It might be that it was usual at that time to rent those things than to buy them. My parents also had a rented water heater when they owned a home, which is why I didn't even think twice about it.

I don't know how expensive those boilers were in the 80s.