Foreigners may rent freely, and listing platforms like ikman and LankaPropertyWeb let you deal directly with owners, often avoiding tenant-side agency fees.
A deep furnished, serviced and short-term market (Airbnb, dedicated Colombo apartment operators, nomad-stay sites) makes a soft landing and trial-before-committing easy.
Universal tax-funded 'free health' system (state policy since 1951): government hospitals provide care free of charge at the point of delivery, financed from general tax revenue.
Free nationwide emergency ambulance: dial 1990 (Suwa Seriya) toll-free on any network for 24/7 pre-hospital emergency care across the island; police emergencies are 119.

Watch out for

Outside the Rent Act, deposits and advance rent are freely negotiable and can total several months (commonly a few months combined), with refunds dependent on the landlord's goodwill.
Tenant protections are uneven and enforcement is slow; for non-Rent-Act leases the law tends to favour the landlord, so a clear written (ideally notarised) contract is essential.
Free public care for non-citizens is not guaranteed: tourists and expats are widely reported to receive treatment (especially emergency care) at government hospitals at little or no cost in practice, but official policy signals that foreigners can be charged, so do not rely on free public treatment - most nomads use private hospitals.
Public hospitals are free at the point of use but come with long waits, crowding and variable quality - most nomads use private hospitals for anything non-emergency.

Cost of living

Colombo

€700–€1,250/mo