Do residents pay to use it?

Yes. Rentals are charged by the hour or the day; consumables are bought outright. The comparison a resident makes is not against free, it is against buying the thing, and against the trip to go and get it.

Why per-use pricing is the right shape

A vacuum used four times a year costs a household real money to own, plus a cupboard. Renting it four times costs a fraction of that and no cupboard. The value is obvious to residents precisely because they can do the arithmetic themselves.

Where buildings choose to subsidise

Some properties cover or discount specific categories as part of the resident offer, most commonly cleaning equipment or the things that reduce move-in friction. That is a commercial choice available under either operating model and is worth raising early, because it changes the revenue assumptions.

What matters more than the price

That it is visible in the app before someone commits, that there are no surprise charges, and that the terms of a late return are stated before the item is borrowed rather than after. Resentment in this category comes from surprise, not from cost.