Does every rental property come with a hot water heater or is it the tenants responsibility to purchase or rent that equipment?

Normally, a rental property would have to have a hot water heater; failure to provide one would mean that the landlord has violated the "implied warranty of habitability" (the obligation that all rental premises be fit for their intended purpose, such as residence) and/or the lease itself. In the common situation, the landlord would have to provide the hot water heater, or else the tenant would terminate the lease and/or sue for monetary compensation.

However, there is an exception: someone could legally agree to rent a premises without hot water and to have to provide the heater him/herself. So if prior to the rental the landlord disclosed the lack of a hot water heater to the tenant, and the tenant chose to rent anyway, that would be legal.